As Time Go's By
by Rapunzel3
Summary: Lucy can't help but feel a little lost after the incident with the Infinity Clock that wiped many of the Celestial Mages magic from the world. Upset, Determined and little frightened Lucy sets out of another rent driven mission in hope of dragging herself out of the funk she has fallen into, but when do simple jobs ever go as planned. Full Summary Inside - hints of Nalu
1. Chapter 1

**Hope you all enjoy my story. I don't own the title image. **

**Please Review if you have the time. I appreciate the comments and criticism that people have to offer:)**

**An extended summary of As Time Go's By:**

**Just after the Infinity Clock Arc. As the guild celebrates another victory for Fairy tail Lucy can't help the sadness that has slowly started to consume her world. The infinity clock took away many of the Celestial Mage's magic and she knows she is one of the few who can perform the now rare Celestial Magic. Determined, upset, and a little frightened Lucy sets out on another rent determined mission in hope of dragging herself out of the funk she has fallen into. But after a mysterious note appears in Lucy's apartment it sets into motion more questions than answers. Making Lucy's already confused mind even more riddled with questions. As Lucy races to find the answers she desperately seeks will she be able to find the answers and strength to face and fight the person that threatens her life, and her guild. Will Lucy have enough time to protect the one's she loves before her time runs out? Lucy's clock has started and will she reach her goal before her clock finally stops... **

**I do not own Fairy Tail. **

* * *

The damsel in distress was a situation she always loved growing up. The pretty maiden stuck in a tower guarded by the dragon, and a handsome valiant knight protecting the maiden and sweeping her to a beautiful palace and living a happy and wonderful life. A fairy tail ending for each beautiful and enchanting story. However for Lucy her view on damsels in distress started to become shaded and unwanted as time went by. She had been born into a wealthy family and had the dresses, the balls, and the extravagance of a princess but she lived far from happiness. After the passing of her mother her world turned cold and distant. The once happy family became broken with the cold personality of her father and the sad memories of the loss of her mother. Lucy wanted her own fairy tail ending so she embarked on her own journey to find happiness and found it in the guild known as Fairy Tail.

Ironic that the guild she joined was called Fairy Tail. Lucy had always dreamed of the fairy tail ending and read many books amercing herself in the perfect love stories, filled with adventure and true love. But after being in Fairy Tail for over a year know (or was it 8 due to the time lapse….) she only thought of it as ironic. The adventures they went on were always hilarious, exciting, and always very dangerous, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. Every adventure they went on had their own story, problem, and happy ending, until the next adventure took place. She loved it; to Lucy she was living the life she had always wanted. Filled with everything that she had lacked at her cold and distant home. She had a family that loved her and protected her, she had many memories of laughter, and she went on adventures that tested her ability and strength. It was everything she had wanted when she was little; to live in a fairy tail riddled with adventure, love, and laughter.

However not everything could be picture perfect for Lucy Heartfillia. Her adventures had there dangerous side, and entertaining side, but lately it always seemed like she was the one needing saving, always the one to be captured, and always the missing piece to someone's puzzle. She began to hate how weak she appeared. She had been captured a long time ago by the element four for her father's own gain, and she had been taken in order to start the infinity clock and had barely made it out alive. Not to mention in Edolas when she was the only one for a while able to use magic and had been useless and had gotten everyone thrown in jail.

Every job Lucy and her team went on she helped as much as she could but when it came to battle she would be cast aside and had to watch from the sidelines as she tried to gather the strength to help her team. Sure Lucy had her strengths and she helped out her team more than she thought but when it came to stamina, or physical battle she was the weak link. She hated always looking weak in front of her guild members; she didn't want to be the damsel in distress that everyone had to hurry to save or protect because she was to weak to do it herself. Lucy however did appreciate how concerned her nakama were for her, but always being captured was beginning to grind on her nerves.

Deep down Lucy knew that her nakama would always protect their own, it just so happened that lately it had always been here that someone needed, and her guild would come flying to her rescue. Lucy wanted to be able to fight for herself as well. She knew she wasn't that weak. Sure she wasn't as strong as Erza, Gray, and Natsu, but she was strong in her own element, and in her own way. She was a Celestial Sprit Mage after all, and she was the only one in Fairy Tail. However Lucy still wanted to show that she didn't need someone to fight for her, to protect her, and save her from the clutches of evil, she just didn't know how.

* * *

Lucy sat on her usual bar stool sipping on a strawberry milkshake peacefully, contemplating what to do next. She wanted to train, but no-body at the guild could help her in Celestial Sprit's since her magic was a dying breed. She considered asking Erza or someone else to help her in martial arts and physical strength, but was a little too frightened and hesitant to get beaten to a pulp every day. Lucy shivered at the thought. The image of Erza training Lucy flashed through her mind as a chair flew by her ear bringing her out of the horrifying thought. Her chocolate orbs stared at the chair for a few second before she slowly turned around, milkshake in hand, to take in the state of the guildhall. She wasn't surprised to see that it was as noisy as ever.

Natsu and Gray were fighting, throwing chairs, flipping tables, and throwing insults at one another, typical. Lucy saw a shirt fly up in the air, knowing that Gray was unconsciously stripping during battle. Lucy heard the usual shout of Natsu yelling Stripper from across the hall only confirming her thoughts. Cana was downing a whole keg to herself. Elfman was yelling about being a man while punching another guild member. Juvia was hiding behind a pillar watching Gray fight Natsu with hearts in her eyes. Levy had her nose deep in a new book unaware of a chair flying over her head. Gajeel sat close to Levy and started yelling at the person who had thrown the chair at her then leaping into the fight himself. Mirajane was humming to herself watching the chaos with warm eyes and passing a glass over to Lissanna, and Wendy was running towards the exceed gang and Romeo with a happy expression. Lucy watched as the table that Erza was sitting at flipped throwing her beautiful cake to the ground. Natsu and Gray continued to fight unknown to them the wrath that they just unleashed upon themselves. _It was chaos but it was home._ Lucy thought as she took the scene in with warm and watchful eyes, a small smile gracing her lips.

They were all so oblivious. It had only been a week since the incident with the infinite clock and the members of the guild had already reverted back to their usual rambunctious selves. For Lucy however she couldn't shake the feeling that she was one of the last key holders in the country, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy and alone. There had been many Celestial Mages who had been saved during the infinity clock incident but all had lost their ability to perform magic. It also didn't help that she had been completely useless as the clock slowly devoured her. It made her sad and angry at the world and at her herself, she felt so useless when it came to intense battles, and protecting people she loved. She couldn't even move when she was in the infinity clock just watch with unemotional eyes as Natsu fought to save her.

She finished her milkshake setting it firmly on the countertop with a few jewels. Mirajane swept it away with a happy smile as Lucy got up to look at the request board before heading home. Lucy was however unaware of Mirajane's smile slowly reverting to a sadder smile as she watched the silent Celestial Mage. However oblivious to Mirajane's look Lucy had her mind set on the request board. It was nearing that time of the month again and she would need to go on a job soon to secure money for rent and food. She lazily gazed at the request board, not really reading, and not really paying attention to the amounts either; her thoughts were somewhere else. She heard a thump behind her and turned a little to see who had been thrown across the guild. No surprise crossed her face as she glanced down at the pink haired mage on the ground.

Natsu groaned and held his head. Erza must have finally caught up to him. His dark eyes land on chocolate and he gives Lucy his signature bright smile flashing his canines. Lucy returns the warm smile laughing a little and lends him a hand to get up, which he accepts.

"What'cha up to Luce?" Natsu asks as he stands beside her at the request board.

"Just looking at request's. We should go on one soon, or else I won't be able to pay for food and rent," Lucy says waving a hand to the request board.

"Sounds good to me," Natsu say's eagerly and Lucy smiles at his enthusiasm.

Lucy can't help but think that a job will be good to get her mind off of her problems. Anyways everyone always says that experience is what helps one get stronger and her rent was due, so job it is then. She would have to put off her thought on training and maybe doing some research for another day. Erza and Gray appear on either side of Natsu and look at the request board.

"You guys thinking on taking a request?" Gray asks.

"Yea. Rent's due soon," Lucy says glancing at the little group that has formed.

"What request were you looking at, maybe I will join," Erza says her eyes devouring the request board like it was her next slice of cake.

"I don't know. I hadn't gotten that far," Lucy says looking at the request forms nothing really jumping out at her.

"What about this one," Natsu says snatching a request off the board.

Lucy looks it over and sighs. A typical Natsu pick. The job asks for the capture of bandits, and the extermination of a few monsters that have been spotted around the town. It was going for a 230,000 jewels. It was a decent amount of pay, and a pretty straightforward job, however Lucy couldn't help but think that it was mostly brute force that was needed. Gray, Erza and Natsu would do most of that, and Lucy would be left to clean up after them. She sighed but nodded in agreement since she needed the money.

Wendy appeared at Lucy's elbow with hopeful eyes and asked if she could join and the group all agreed. After working out a few details in transportation, time, and supplies they all went their separate ways. Erza went to give the details to Mirajane, Natsu and Gray were butting heads again, and Wendy went off to sit with Romeo. Lucy sighed and headed home for the night deciding she needed a quite night with her thoughts and maybe think of a solution for her troubled mind.

Mirajane watched Lucy walk out of the guildhall with worried eyes. She could tell that something was bothering the blonde mage, but she couldn't think of what the cause could be.

"What's wrong Mira?" Erza asked as she took a bite of her cake.

"I'm just worried about Lucy," Mirajane said with a sigh.

"Why's that?" Erza said putting her fork down and listening to the ex S-Class mage in front of her.

"She's been so quite lately, and I always find her zooning out while at the guild. I hope everything is okay," Mirajane says with a small sad smile.

"I guess your right. She has been a lot quieter lately. She hasn't even tried to Lucy kick Natsu and Gray when their fights get out of hand," Erza says and continues to eat her cake.

"She's been through so much, I worry for her sometimes," Mirajane says still glancing at the door.

"Me too," Erza says with a sigh and finishes her cake.

* * *

Lucy walked out of the guildhall and out into the chilly night. She took her usual walkway balancing on the stonewall beside the glossy river. Her blonde hair shone in the moonlight as she made her way to her little apartment, unaware of the person cloaked in shadows who slowly followed at a safe distance.

"Miss Lucy. Be careful!" She heard the familiar shout from across the dark water and smiled.

"Don't worry I will be," she called back and waved to the friendly fishermen.

She looked up at the starry sky and smiled up at the familiar constellations. She loved the stars and the night sky, which made sense since she was Celestial wizard, but she always loved to star gaze anyways. Sooner then she wanted too she reached her apartment. Taking one last look at the bright sky she unlocked her door and went in excited to take a calming bath. The door shut gently behind her and she made her way up the staircase and into her little flat. Quickly putting the water on she got ready to take a bath.

Outside of her small apartment the clocked figure emerged from the shadows of a nearby alley. A cool breeze blew through the night billowing the clock around the shadowed figure as it walked in front of the small apartment. The night was quite as the figure lifted it's hooded head and looked at the slightly open window on the second floor. The warm light from the room fluttered down onto the pavement in front of the stranger. The stranger could hear the running of water from the street, a small smile playing across their lips.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello fellow Fairies. Thank you all for reading my FanFic. Thank you to my two reviewers it made me very happy to hear from the two of you :) Hope all of you enjoy my next chapter. **

**I do not own Fairy Tail **

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Lucy stepped out of the shower grabbing a warm towel. The steam from her warm shower fogged the mirror and made the room look hazy around her. She let out a long sigh letting the last bit of tension leave her system. She needed to relax and not worry herself over the thoughts involving the Infinity Clock. She shook her head mentally in attempt to clear her head again not wanting to ruin the calm that had finally settled over her. She opened her bathroom door and stepped out into her bright apartment.

Lucy gasped as a light breeze ran across her bare legs making her shiver from the cold and making goose bumps form on her pale legs. She hugged the little towel closer to her and inched her way out of the bathroom. If there was a breeze in her house that meant someone had snuck in through the window. Lucy's groaned. Had Natsu broke into her house again? She padded into the kitchen and was surprised not to see her partners eating all of her food.

Her heart picked up it's pace as she glanced towards her bedroom. Lucy tried to reassure herself and attempt not to panic. _Maybe I just left the window open this morning and forgot to shut it?_ She thought to herself as she inched her way around her table to get a view of the window in her bedroom. Her eyes widened as she saw that her window was indeed wide open. Lucy's heart picked up and she stretched out a hand wrapping it firmly around a frying pan and slowly making her way to her bedroom.

Lucy reached her bedroom door and leaned beside it taking a deep breath. Her heart pounded in her ears as she took a deep breath. Lucy watched as a shadow approached where she was hidden. Her breath catching in her throat before she leapt out of her hiding spot.

"KYYYAAAAAAAAAA!" Lucy yelled with her eyes shut bringing the frying pan towards the suspects face.

Lucy heard the satisfied smack as her metal frying pan connected with the shadows face.

"Ahhhhh Luce! What was that for?" She heard a certain dragon slayers muffled voice and her eyes flash open.

Lucy watched as Natsu stumbled back with his hand covering the left side of his face. He stumbled into her little table and fell to the floor still clutching his face.

"Natsu! Are you okay?" She said rushing over to him and kneeling beside him.

"Luce. What's with the frying pan?" he asked looking at her with confused and childlike eyes.

"Maybe if you didn't break into my apartment I wouldn't have panicked and hit you with a frying pan," Lucy said her voice rising as her anger began to spike towards the dragon slayer and smacking him on the side of the head.

"Owh Luce," Natsu whined.

"Here let me see," Lucy said gently removing Natsu's hands from his face and seeing a nice gash on his check and potential swelling begin to puff up around his eye.

Lucy let out a sigh still holding his hands away from his face. She can see a small blush cross his checks at the close proximity of the two. Lucy gave him a confused glance then glanced down at her body. Lucy was thankful that she decided to tuck in the bath towel or else she would have been exposed since she used both hands to grab Natsu. Her face began to heat up in response to the awkward situation, and she hit him on the side of the head.

"Pervert! Here let me get changed. You sit on the couch," Lucy said standing quickly grabbing her pajamas and hurrying off to the bathroom.

Lucy changed quickly and reemerged in her short pajama shorts and tank top. She padded back into her bedroom and grabbed the first aid kit from the shelf. Natsu was seated on her bed with his hand still holding the side of his head. Of course he wouldn't listen to her orders, it didn't even faze her, she new he preferred her bed since it was more comfy. She dropped the first aid kit beside him and then ran to the freezer grabbing a bag of frozen peas.

"Here let me see," Lucy said sitting down beside him. She grabbed his chin and turned his head to look at the cut on the side of his face. It wasn't too deep, which made Lucy relived. Lucy turned back to the first aid kit taking out a small Band-Aid, and disinfectant. Natsu's eyes watched her as she tenderly took care of his wound. With gentle hands she cleaned and patched up his wound not noticing the small tinge of pink that crept up onto Natsu's face.

"There. Now put this bag of peas on the side of your head so you don't swell. I hope you don't get a black eye from the hit," she said a little guiltily sitting back and getting comfy on the bed.

Lucy shivered and closed the window that still stood wide open beside Natsu as he slowly put the bag of peas to the side of his face. She felt bad for hitting him with her metal frying pan. It must have hurt a lot, but in her own defense she thought he was a burglar. If it had been a stranger she might not have been so lucky. She had been in the shower, completely defenseless; her key's just lying on the bedside table waiting to be snatched away. She should be more careful; it frightened her to know just how vulnerable she had been.

"Luce… Luce!" Natsu said waving a hand in front of Lucy face pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?" She said looking into his concerned face.

"What's up Luce? You've been spacing out all week," Natsu said leaning back against the windowsill.

She gave him a curious look, he noticed? She debated if she should tell him the truth or not. He was her partner, and best friend, he had a right to know what bothered her, but she didn't know if she really wanted to tell him. Heaving a big sigh and looking down at her clasped hands she decided that the truth was better than hiding it. She trusted his judgment and wanted him to know what troubled her.

"It's the Infinity Clock. I just… I keep thinking about how there are so few Celestial Mages out there now. They all lost their magic; I only know of two other mages like me, it worries me. It also seems that Celestial Mages are always targeted or captured. I can't help but feel… weak and alone," Lucy said not looking up from her hands. She could feel Natsu's intense gaze but she wasn't brave enough to look up in fear that she would see pity, or something worse. She scolded herself for those thoughts, why did she have to be so weak.

She felt a warm hand rest on her shoulder and she finally looked up into Natsu's dark eyes. His eyes blazed with intensity and warmth and she wondered why they danced with such emotion.

"Luce we are always here for you. Fairy Tail is your family, so you're never alone. You're also not weak. You are one of the strongest people I know, but you need to believe that for yourself, if you think you need to improve we all will help you okay," he said in such a serious tone that Lucy was at a lost for words as she blinked back tears.

"Thanks Natsu. That means a lot," she said with a warm smile, that he gladly returned with his toothy grin.

The rest of the night they talk about everything and nothing. After telling Natsu what had been bothering her she felt a lot lighter, like a heavy burden had finally lifted from her mind. She felt at ease, but she was still troubled by her own thoughts, they just lay more dormant in the back of her mind, slowly buzzing behind the happy demeanor. She knew that her family would always be there, and what Natsu had said it had made her feel safe, and loved. The evening was going nicely until Natsu took a deep breath after laughing at one of the stories of her childhood. Natsu stopped mid laugh and took another sniff of the air around them.

"Hey Luce did you have someone else over here?" Natsu asked with a serious tone. Lucy paused looking curiously at his serious expression.

"No. I came right home after the guild and had a shower. No-one was here," she answered truthfully. "Why?" she asked.

"Well there is a weird scent in here that's not yours," he said his brows furrowing as he took another breath of the stale scent lingering by the window.

"Natsu was the window open or closed when you came here," Lucy said her heart picking up again at the thought of someone breaking into her house.

"Yea it was wide open why… …Oh!" Natsu said turning around to look at the window.

He put his face close to the window frame and took another sniff and his face scrunched up in disgust. "Why didn't I notice this earlier…?" he mumbled to himself, but Lucy had heard him.

"Maybe because the window was open earlier. It could have disrupted the scents…" She said voicing her thoughts getting a hmmm in response.

Natsu stood up trying to follow the stale scent. It didn't stray to too many places in the apartment only staying on one path. Natsu followed the scent to the writing desk. Lucy's desk was riddled with the strangers scent. His stomach squirmed with unease at the thought of some stranger breaking into Lucy's house while she was in the shower. The longer he breathed the stale scent the more his blood boiled, letting out a low growl. He felt a warm hand on his arm and turned to face a concerned Lucy.

"Whoever that creep is they came in through the window, came to the desk, and then left," Natsu said looking down at her frightened but determined brown eyes she nodded and looked back at the desk.

Lucy shifted around Natsu to look at her desk. Why would someone come into her apartment and only go to her desk? She was in the shower they could have done a lot worse but they only came here. Why? Lucy looked over the writing desk. Her books were still placed in a pile at the side. The book she was writing was scattered across the desk, her pen lazily resting at the side. Everything seemed normal except for one sheet of paper that was from a different story had been placed on top of the pile. Lucy reached out a shaking hand and picked up the one sheet of paper that was out of place.

She recognized it immediately as a piece from one of her more recent pieces. It was a page from a short story that she had written not to long ago. The page they had picked was the part where the main character in her story was controlled by time. He always had a pocket watch watching as the time slowly ticked his life away. The page in front of her was the part where his time was running low but he was still trying to save the person he loved from the same fate. Why had they picked this piece of paper and how did they know about it? Lucy scanned the page and turned it over and narrowed her eyes as she took in the writing on the back of the page. Lucy could feel Natsu come up and look over her shoulder. She could feel him tense beside her and he leaned more over her shoulder.

"Luce what does it mean?" he asked and his breath tickled her ear. She let out a breath of frustration as she looked at the page in front of her.

"I have no idea," she said putting it back down on her desk.

They both stared down at the writing on the paper, the black letters staring back at them. The text was elegant and sleek flowing across the back of the paper, bringing up more questions than answers. The text said. _Star Gazer Your Number is Chosen. _Then underneath the little phrase an elegant _6_ swept across the page_._ A pocket watch had been roughly drawn beside it, making Lucy take a sharp intake of 's mind raced as she stared down at the sheet of paper. Why? What does it mean? The same questions rang through her mind the longer she stared at it.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked beside her to see Natsu's angered and confused look. Lucy folded the piece of paper and put it aside. She had no idea what it meant, and staring at the piece of paper wouldn't give her answers. She had a clue but she couldn't dwell on it at the moment. She would have to sleep on it and think about it in the morning. Just another thing to make her mind worry over, she thought letting out another sigh. She turned to face Natsu and he was still glaring at the piece of paper. She could feel the heat coming off of him.

"Natsu will deal with it tomorrow. There's nothing we can do now," she said touching his arm in hope of calming him down a little then turned back to her bed. He let out a frustrated growl and followed her. She collapsed onto her bed confused and a little frightened. Her mind reeled at the break in and she came to one conclusion to her many questions.

"Natsu can you stay…" Lucy said trailing off and glancing back at the desk.

She didn't want to admit it but she wanted Natsu to stay, she felt a little frightened after the break-in but didn't want to appear like a damsel in distress. However Natsu knew her fears and she didn't really want to be alone tonight. Natsu gave her an understanding smile and scratched the back of his head.

"I planned on staying anyways Luce," Natsu said with a shy smile making Lucy's checks warm.

"Thanks Natsu," Lucy said and crawled into her bed as Natsu clicked off the lights and settled on the couch.

Giving Natsu a final smile she rolled over, just today she will play the damsel, just for tonight she will take the pleasure of needing someone there to make her feel safe. Lucy however did not have the luxury of a peaceful sleep. As the darkness of dreams took over she tossed and turned, plagued with the possibilities of what the message could mean. Little did she know that she would be hearing from the stranger very, very soon.


	3. Chapter 3 - Mission Part I

**Hello fellow Fairies. Sorry for the late update, work has gotten in the way of writing, but don't worry i have been brainstorming. Please Read and Review. Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

Lucy trailed behind her team. They had been walking for nearly 4 hours and had had a 6-hour train ride before that. Lucy hadn't gotten any sleep the night before and was not privileged to gain sleep on the long train ride to their destination. She had tossed and turned last night not finding any peace in the frightening dreams that took over her night. She was tired and dragged her feet behind her lively team that bounded around in front of her. Natsu and Gray were picking fights and Erza was constantly stopping them. Wendy skipped alongside talking to Carla and Happy. However Lucy wasn't really paying attention to the group, her mind always drifting to the thoughts that plagued her troubled mind.

Lucy couldn't stop thinking of the night before. Her mind kept wondering what the message had meant and why that particular piece of paper had been chosen. Her number was 6, but she had no idea what it could mean. She had an idea that it had to do with time, since the burglar had taken the time to draw a pocket watch. The question that followed that conclusion was how much time did the message mean? 6 hours? 6 days? 6 weeks? 6 months? 6 years? Lucy had no idea. She had considered the possibility that the number had meant people but the more she thought of it the more she ruled it out, but she didn't complete forget about the possibility.

Her idea about the 6 representing a measure of some sort of time also connected with the piece of paper. The main character was a slave to his own time. He only had so much, and he was constantly fighting against it to save the one's he loved. This thought only made her confidant in that the 6 represented her time. The only question was how much time? As Lucy came to this conclusion the next puzzle to solve was why? Why had she been given a number and what did it lead too? And how had the mystery person known about that sheet of paper? It had been tucked away in her desk and she had only just written it. She was frightened by the unanswered questions that riddled her mind; it was the only thing she could think about. Lucy was pulled out of her thoughts when she ran into a very solid object.

"OOWWW," Lucy yelled as she fell backwards and landed on her butt rubbing her nose and forehead looking up at the tree she had just made contact with.

Lucy heard laughter and looked over to see her six friends laughing at her. Gray was clutching his stomach and was bent over as he laughed uncontrollably. Erza whipped a stray tear from her eye as she laughed alone with the others. Natsu was pointing and his head was slung backwards as he also cried and laughed. Carla had a smug look as she stifled her laughter behind her white paws. Happy was on the ground rolling around and laughing. Erza smacked Natsu on the back out of laughter and sent him face first into the mud, which only created more laughter. Lucy held her stomach as she watched a confused and flustered Natsu wipe the mud from his face.

After the laughter died down Lucy stood and went too help Natsu up. Then they began their journey again only this time Lucy wasn't deep in thought. Lucy had needed the laughter and the uplifting moment to help bring her out of the funk she had become trapped in. Her thoughts were consuming her and it was beginning to become a problem. She walked right into a tree; she definitely had a problem.

"Lucy you've been really out of it. Is everything okay?" Erza asked bringing Lucy back into her troubled mind.

"Oh yea sorry. I just have a lot on my mind," Lucy said attempting to avoid the topic.

"Well Lucy. If something is bothering you don't be afraid to tell us, we are your teammates, your friends, your nakama," Erza continued with a determined voice and pointed look.

"I just have a lot on my mind but I'll keep that in mind Erza, and Thanks," Lucy said giving Erza a warm smile.

She didn't know if she should tell them now or later. Lucy decided on the later. Her mind was just working to hard, and she was overthinking it all. She needed to relax and she had wanted this mission to be a distraction and a helping hand to get her out of her troubled mind, but last night. _No. NO! Think about something else!_ Lucy mentally scolded herself.

Lucy felt someone nudge her shoulder and looked over to find Natsu looking down at her with concerned eyes. Natsu was the only one who knew what was going through her mind and he was concerned. Lucy didn't want her whole team to give her those same eyes full of concern, but Erza had a point. They were all her teammates, her family they had a right to know that someone had broken into her apartment, and left a mysterious message. They maybe didn't need to know that she considered herself to be weak and a damsel in distress, but she would ask Erza and Gray to help train her in the future. Lucy would tell them, just not at the moment, they needed to focus on the mission. She gave him a reassuring smile and whispered low enough so only his heightened ears could hear the light words.

"I want to tell them and I will, its now isn't the best time. I don't want everyone distracted on the mission," Lucy whispered and Natsu nodded with a serious expression.

However Natsu with a serious expression did not suit him and Lucy nudged him flashing him one of her genuine smiles and in return he gave her his signature toothy grin. It made her giggle and felt her checks become slightly warm as she turned forward too continued their walk to Oaktown, which to Lucy's surprise was just over the river they had just arrived at.

Lucy stood at the edge of the small river and looked across at the magnificent town that adorned the hill on the other side. Oak Town was located between the Kita River and the Dachi Forest. The sun had a few hours left in the sky and casted a golden glow on the old buildings. That was one thing that Lucy had heard about in Oak Town. It was famous for the old buildings that decorated the town and Lucy hoped that she might be able to draw inspiration for her book. She could see the old buildings from her spot. The old stone buildings rising towards the sky and looking like something out of a fairy tale.

"Hurry up Lucy we need to catch the ferry," Erza called over her shoulder.

"A ferry?" Natsu called and Lucy watched as his face started to go green.

"Come on Natsu its only a short ride across the river," Lucy said as she grabbed his arm and dragged him gently forward towards his worst nightmare.

* * *

A short ferry ride latter they finally arrived in the beautiful town of Oak Town. The quickly found an inn and rented two rooms dropping their bags and heading towards the clients house. He was the mayor of the town and of course he lived at the very top of the hill. Lucy complained as they walked the many steps towards the top of the hill. She did notice the beautiful stone and wooden houses, and the blooming flowers in the windows, which she noted for her book as she climbed.

They finally reached the top and looked at the mayor's house. They knocked on the large mahogany door that adorned the outside of the stone castle that resided on the top of the hill. It was quite magnificent to look at. It had the stone towers, keeps, and archways like it had been taken straight out of a medieval story. Lucy couldn't help but wonder if royalty used to live in the old castle before the town adopted a mayor. The large door creaked open and a small bald man with a very large mustache poked his head out.

"Yes?" he asked in a small and shrill voice.

"Hello Sir, we are the fairy tail mages that accepted the job you posted," Lucy said stepping forward with a smile.

"Yes. Come in, the mayor has been expecting you," he squeaked and let them through the massive wooden doors.

Lucy shivered when she stepped into the stone corridor. Lucy thought it looked like she had stepped right into a fairy tale. The stone corridor had limited windows, casting slivers of light onto the red-carpeted floor. Large canvas paintings decorated the walls. Each picture capturing a part of history. Lucy walked by a painting of the founding of Oak Town; only a few houses dotted the hill they currently stood on. Another painting showed the founding families all smiling up at the painter with the stone castle standing tall in the background. Another showed a royal family sitting it what appeared to be a throne room, she smiled, her assumption had been correct.

The next picture captured her full attention as she passed it. The picture was of a beautiful green dragon flying high above Oak Town. It was a beautiful painting, capturing the shimmering of the scales and the golden light on the town below. Lucy wondered what the story behind the painting was, and decided she would look into it later. Lucy nudged Natsu as they passed the painting. She watched as he glanced up at the painting and stopped completely, a huge smile spreading across his lips and his eyes shining with happiness and a hint of sadness. _He loves his dragons;_ Lucy giggled and pulled Natsu along in the corridor to catch up with the rest of the group since he was still gaping at the picture.

They arrived at another large wooden door and the small bald man opened it with a loud creak, which made Lucy cringe. Lucy and the others stepped into a beautiful lit room. A huge set of windows adorned the left side of the room letting in the last rays of the sun scatter across the room. Lucy thanked the shrill man and eased into one of the comfy chairs, resting her body from the horrible trek up the hill. Natsu fell into the seat beside her letting out an exhausted sigh. Erza, Wendy and Gray took the other couch. Everyone leaning into the soft fabric and letting their bodies relax from the extensive amount of traveling. All to soon the large doors creaked open again and a high-pitched voice pierced their ears.

"You've made it. Oh Thank you, thank you, thank you," the voice said coming closer. Lucy was the first one to react and stood up to face the new addition to the room.

The man in front of her was short and round, with a large bushy red beard covering half of his face. He had little black beady eyes that darted between the fairy tail mages never fully resting on one face at a time. He ran up to the little group and shook each of the mages hands with too much enthusiasm. As he shook Lucy's hand, Lucy couldn't help but think her arm was about to be pulled from its socket. Lucy rubbed the now sore spot as she returned to her seat on the couch. The man whom she assumed was the mayor took the head chair and began introductions.

"Hello Fairy Tail Mages, I am Olaf Yamada, I am the mayor of Oak Town. I can't tell you how pleased I am that you have accepted my request," he said his head still swiveling between each face.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Yamada. My name is Lucy, this is Natsu, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Happy and Carla," Lucy introduced to Olaf who nodded along with her.

"Yes, nice to meet everyone," Olaf said in a shrill voice.

"Mr. Yamada I was wondering if you could tell us about the job. It mentioned bandits and beasts. Could you elaborate?" Erza said seriously. Olaf's face fell and he stopped looking at each face and fixed his eyes onto the fire in front of him.

"Yes that is why I put the job up. It's only been recently that the bandits and the beasts have started attacking my town, its become a serious problem. The bandits only come here at night and raid magic shops, and any food storage. The police force and some mages have tried to capture them but they retreat into the forest and that's where the beasts live. They steal loads of food, but the raids on the magic shops are confusing, they only steal a few books, and potions. Many lives have been lost due to beasts and my town is suffering from the constant raids from the bandits. If this keeps up Oak Town will be no more," Olaf said in a grave tone.

"Can you tell us anything about the bandits," Gray asked.

"Well we have never seen their faces, and they don't use magic. However they are highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. One of the only leads we have on them is the message's they leave behind. The creatures are large and wolf like, and always travel in packs. Sorry that's about all I have for you," Olaf finishes and returns to his head swiveling.

"Did you say they are leaving messages?" Wendy asked.

"Yes almost every time they raid a store or warehouse they leave a message however the messages don't make much sense and sometimes it repeats itself," Olaf said.

"Thank you for your time Mr. Yamada. If you could point us in the direction of the most recent attack, and then list the others we will leave you too your work," Erza said standing up and shaking the man's hand firmly before departing from Mr. Yamada's many thank-you's.

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The directions he gave lead the team back down to a magic shop closer to the water's edge. Lucy felt the warm breeze on her face as she looked at the magic shop in front of her. The little magic shop looked quite quaint with its wooden panels and little intricate patterns decorating the wooden plates. It was quite a nice shop except for the damage done by the raid. The shop windows were smashed in and only a few fractured pieces gripped the edges of the empty panes. The front door was busted in leaving scattered wood chips to litter the front of the shop. The team steeped through the front door and looked at the destroyed shop. Books were scattered on the floor, pages ripped out and left to step on. Magic potions were shattered, and seeped into the carpet emitting heavy scents into the atmosphere. Everything was destroyed but the thing that disturbed Lucy the most was the writing on the wall behind the broken front desk.

Etched into the wood above the desk was a phrase. _In every second wasted a beloved star shall burn out. _Then scrawled in a larger text and slightly sideways was the word _Tock._ Lucy was confused by the message. What kind of message was this, it made no sense. However the mention of stars burning out didn't sit well in the Celestial mages heart. Erza stepped to the back and went to look for the owner, in an attempt to get more answers. Lucy however took a blank piece of paper from the ground and wrote the phrase on the sheet. Maybe the other messages made more sense then the one in front of her.

Erza came back after a few seconds later shaking her head, "I couldn't find the owner. It looks like he left, we will come back at another time and ask him questions." Erza said standing in the middle of the room.

"Did any of you find anything?" she asked looking at the team around her.

"I think the mayor was right. The message was cut without magic, and the windows were smashed. I don't think the bandits used magic to rob this store," Gray said as he touched the carved message on the wall.

"Wow Gray you actually sounded smart," Natsu said under his breath.

"What did you say Flame brain?" Gray yelled walking towards Natsu

"Nothing Ice Breath!" Natsu said slamming his head against Gray's

"Do I hear arguing?" Erza said in a deathly voice instigating an immediate response from the two boys.

"N-N-N- NO, E-Erza," they stuttered, their arms slung around each other, as they trembled in front of the frightening Erza.

"Good. Now Wendy, Natsu, can your noses pick up anything?"

"There are a lot of scents. Nothing specific that can help us," Wendy said sadly as she held Carla. Natsu nodded and took another large breath confirming what Wendy had said. Lucy spoke up next.

"Erza I want to go to the other sites and gather the other messages. I want to know if the others make any sense," Lucy said looking intently at the message again.

They all agreed and went in search of the other stores and warehouses that hand been hit. They walked to each location looking at the same kind of destruction in each place. Some places had been cleaned but others hadn't been so lucky. They talked to owners who told them what had been taken, but in some cases, which usually were magic stores, nothing had been taken. Which worried and confused the group. At each location a message was written, and sometimes it was a message they had already seen, only further confirming what the mayor had told them. As their day slowly winded down they went back to the inn confused and ready to begin the search for the bandits.

Their plan for the night was to do it in shifts waiting for the bandits to appear. From what they heard the bandits appeared every night and raided one place before taking shelter in the nearby forest. The inn they were staying at was quite tall standing at 6 stories and the owner allowed them to use the roof for their shifts. The town was small and they could see most of the shops from its high roof so it seemed like the perfect look out for their night.

Lucy sat in her bed as she readied herself for sleep. She wasn't the first shift but she couldn't fall asleep either. She sat there with the paper in front of her, which held the 6 messages they had gathered. In total there had been 12 shops that had been raided, but they all held the same message. She starred at them in silence as she felt the fear and uncertainty slowly creep into her system. Something about the messages irked her; especially the finally one they had come across. Maybe it was the mindset she had been supporting for the past week. Maybe it had something to do with the break in last night. Maybe Lucy was just paranoid but she couldn't shake the feeling.

The others hadn't thought too much on the messages, and Natsu was too dense to put the pieces together but Lucy had her suspicions. She crawled under her covers as she waited for sleep to claim her the one message ringing out through her mind. The image of it was still branded to the backs of her eyes as she slowly drifted off to sleep. The last warehouse they had visited had food spilled across the floor. Crates had bee smashed open, and a bald old man was attempting to clean the mess the bandits had left. The message was carved into the wooden wall the same slanted handwriting from before. As she slowly let the darkness claim her, those words were the last thing she saw before she drifted into restless sleep.

_Tick, go's the clock for the holder of the stars. _Lucy couldn't help but feel like those words were somehow connected to her.


	4. Chapter 4 - Mission Part II

**Hey Again. Thank you everyone for reading and review my story. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter. Things are finally beginning to pick up. Please Review I love hearing from you :)**

**I do not own Fairy Tail. I just use the characters for my own story. :)**

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Lucy stands at the edge of the inn's roof looking out over the dark and silent town. A light wind ripples through her blonde hair making Lucy shiver and hold the blanket tighter around her shoulders. It may have been the beginning of summer but the nights dropped to freezing temperatures and Lucy silently cursed the cold breeze. However Lucy didn't mind since the view was marvelous. The inn was one of the tallest buildings in Oak Town. Behind her she could see the rising castle where the mayor lived, an eerie glow emitting from it, signaling that someone was still awake in the gigantic castle. In front of her was the shinning Kita River that reflected the full moon off its glass surface. However cold Lucy was she had to admit it was a beautiful night, with the soft glow of the town, and the bright stars shinning above her.

She had taken the second shift of the night with Natsu and it was nice and peaceful, expect for the continuous whining that came out of Natsu's mouth. Lucy roller her eyes as the Dragon Slayer slumped beside her with a very obvious bored expression written on his face.

"Luce this is boorrriinngg. Why can't we just charge into the forest and beat them up already?" he whined as he leaned against the barrier on the roof.

"Natsu you know that is a stupid plan. It's dark, there are those wolf things, we have never been into those woods before, they would have the upper hand on us, and it probably wouldn't' turn out good and we could all get separated," Lucy stated the facts which only gained a grown from Natsu.

"I know," he whined as he looked out at the silent town. Lucy watched as he lit a finger and stared at the now dancing flame in an attempt to amuse himself.

Lucy honed in on the warmth. Her cold hands itching to cup the small flame and gain feeling in her fingers again. She glanced up at Natsu quickly wondering what he may think of her using his flames to warm her hands. Her instincts getting the better of her she leaned forward and put her hands around the flame letting out a sigh of content as the little heat pierced her cold hands. Lucy was so focused on warming her hands she didn't notice the confused look Natsu gave her followed with a slight blush.

"Luce are your hands cold?" he asked still providing the little flame to warm her hands. She could feel it heat up more as she inched closer.

"A little, its cold tonight," she stated.

"Here," Natsu said snuffing out the small flame and holding her hands in his.

Lucy could feel the blush spreading across her checks and thanked Mavis that is was dark out. Lucy felt a sudden burst of heat around her hands and looked down at her and Natsu's linked hands. Lucy couldn't explain the small smile that appeared on her lips accompanied with a deeper blush. Natsu saw her smile and felt his on checks warm up as he warmed up her cold hands.

"Better?" Natsu asked and Lucy hummed in response smiling up at him and he returned it with his own goofy and warm grin.

Lucy watched as the smile faded from Natsu's face and his eyes lost the warmth that they held shattering the sweet moment they were sharing. Her heart picked up with the sudden change. Natsu tilted his head to the side and looked out towards the town, eyes sharp and serious. The wind picked up and Natsu took a deep breath, something obviously touching the Mages enhanced Dragon senses. Natsu suddenly bolted for the door still holding Lucy's hand tightly. Lucy didn't question it, she just ran along side him, knowing that the Dragon Slayer must have either heard, or smelt the bandits. Natsu kicked the boy's door and threw something at Gray startling him awake.

"Get up! There here!" he yelled and Gray shot up ready to fight. Lucy was dragged to the next room and Natsu kicked the girl's door open making Erza and Wendy shoot up in shock.

"It's time," Erza stated, immediately re-quipping into her Heart Kreuz armor, and Wendy slowly got up rubbing her tired eyes and picking up a sleepy Carla.

They all ran down to the lobby bolting out the door. Natsu stopped abruptly pulling Lucy to a halt as she slammed into his back. She finally pulled her hand away from Natsu's fiery grasp and rubbed her forehead that hurt from the impact to his shoulder blades.

"Come on follow me," he said and took off down the road.

"Stick to the plan. Capture them before they get into the forest, then we will deal with the beasts in the morning during the day," Erza said as she jogged up beside Natsu.

"Aye!" Happy said as he flew above the group while the rest of them nodded in response.

Team Natsu and the exceeds ran down the deserted street. Lacrima lamps lit the stone roads and houses, casting long shadows across the streets. Every window in every house was out, hiding from the raiders and their prying eyes. The only sound was the echoing of their footfalls on the cobbled road as they ran towards their goal. The team turned down a side street and the faint sounds of the bandits finally reached the normal ears in the group. Lucy could hear the sound of glass breaking on the road. Lucy reached for her belt getting her whip ready as they approached their target. Gray had lost his shirt the moment the sound of the glass hit his ears. Erza took out her sword not breaking a step. Everyone was preparing for the fight that was about to come.

They made the last turn and found that most of the bandits were outside. The Team took in the scene before them in a split second. There were eight bandits standing outside and they could here more inside throwing out supplies from the food storage they were raiding. Piles of bags were slumped in the middle of the bandits ready to be brought back to their hideout. They couldn't tell what the men looked like since they all wore black cloaks that swept to the stone ground. Their hoods were all pulled far over their faces only showing their mouths. The group of bandits turned to Team Natsu for a split second before everything went to chaos.

Natsu let his Fire Dragon Roar, and Gray sent his Ice Make Spears scattering the group of bandits into two groups. Natsu, Gray and Erza jumped into the fight immediately subduing half of the group. Erza cursed at her stupidity as she watched four bandits flee in the direction of the forest. Her attention spun to the two mages still in the warehouse who were stumbling over themselves in panic. Throwing out orders Erza ordered Wendy and the exceeds to take care of the two in the store and to tie up the rest of the unconscious bandits, then to inform the mayor. While herself, Gray, Natsu and Lucy went after the remaining bandits to cut them off before they reached the forest.

They split chasing after each bandit. They maneuvered through the deserted streets slowly making their way in front of their targets. To Team Natsu's delight they made it to the clearing before the forest before their targets. The Team stood tall as the bandits emerged into the little clearing. One look at Team Natsu could tell you many things about what they were thinking. Natsu stood their cracking his knuckles itching to begin the fight that he had been waiting for. Gray stood hands in his pockets, but with a distinct side smirk, indicating his want to start the fight as well. Erza stood in the middle eyes trained on her target, analyzing, and giving off a deathly aura looking for justice. Lucy stood glaring at the group determined to redeem the town of the suffering that the bandits had brought to this beautiful town. Their opponents were a mystery. The cloaked figures stood in a line, not moving a muscle. The cold breeze billowing their cloaks around their masculine figures was the only movement that graced the dark group. Not even their lower faces gave away what the mysterious bandits were thinking. All of them were frowning and concentrating.

Lucy was thinking that it actually may be a quick fight. They each had an opponent and would each get to fight and redeem the town. However Lucy's thoughts came to a complete halt when she heard a low growl come from behind her. She turned very slowly looking out towards the dark forest behind her. A dark wolf like creature came prowling out of the forest trapping Team Natsu between the bandits and the wolves. Lucy's heart froze as she counted four wolfs on the outskirts of the forest. So know they would each have two opponents, this was beginning to get worse.

"Erza…"Lucy started but trailed off as she took a step to face on side of the opponents looking at the wolves that hung around the forest at a distance.

"Stay together. If we stray to far from one another they will pick us off. Got it!" Gray and Lucy nodded.

"Natsu!" Erza demanded.

"Yea, Yea. Don't stray. Lets get this fight going. I'm all fired up," he yelled slamming his fists together and beginning his Dragon Wing Attack.

"Re-equip," Erza said as she was clocked in a bright light changing into her Black Wing Amour.

"Ice Make Canon!" Gray yelled and sent a flurry of attacks at he wolves.

"Open Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius," Lucy called and a golden magic seal opened on the ground beside her and a tall man dressed in a horse costume appeared at her side letting loose an array of arrows.

The fight raged on Natsu and Erza taking care of the close combat, while Lucy and Gray supported from a distance. Lucy cracked her whip stopping a bandit from landing a hit on Natsu's turned back. After the bandit retracts his hand Natsu turned and hit the man in the gut with a flaming hand. Lucy quickly summoned Scorpio and he sent two wolves into a dust tornado. However whenever Lucy defeated yet another wolf another would prowl out of the shadows only continuing the fight. Team Natsu just couldn't catch a break. Erza and Natsu were even having difficultly. The mayor hadn't been lying when he said that the clocked bandits specialized in hand-to-hand combat, they were holding their own against Erza and Natsu! Erza and Natsu had taken down two of the four bandits already but the wolves kept coming making it difficult to finish the battle.

Lucy let her whip wrap around one of the wolves paws and pulled making it flop to the ground, where Scorpio put the finishing blow to it. Lucy panting and took a step back towards her team her back facing them as they were still surrounded by the enemy. Lucy's gaze was brought to the edge of the forest were she spotted a group of three figures. Who is that? She thought as she squinted in an attempt to get a better look. They stood just inside the shadows of the forest but even from here Lucy could see they were draped in the same clocks as the other bandits. Lucy silently cursed as she could feel the magical energy pulsing from the three figures. Lucy heard a scream and turned her attention back to her teammates. Erza and Natsu had finally defeated the remaining two bandits and the wolves had backed off for the moment. They had a moment to regroup and take a breather.

They were all panting as they stood in the small clearing. She sent her spirits back for the time being so she could recuperate her magic. Lucy took in her team. Natsu had a huge gash on his arm, and Erza had a small one on her check. Gray had several cuts across his chest but they all had fared pretty well in the battle. Lucy walked quickly over to her teammates making sure that it was the only damage and whispering in a quiet voice of the newcomers.

"It's not over, there are three more over by the edge of the forest. I don't know how long they have been there but I can sense their magic from here. They are going to be strong," Lucy said as she quickly wrapped Natsu's arm, and then Gray's chest in record time. Erza was tying up the defeated group of bandits that they had already defeated as they took advantage of the cease-fire.

"Finally a challenge," Natsu said as he cracked his knuckles preparing for the next battle.

Lucy heard a deep throaty laugh from the other side of the clearing where the figures were standing. She turned and saw that they had emerged from the shadows and were standing in front of Team Natsu. It bothered Lucy that she could only see the bottom half of their faces. The one in the middle drew her attention the most. He was shorter than the others but still taller than her. He was the one that was laughing and his mouth was pulled up into a satisfied smirk.

"This shall be fun. Let's begin shall we," the middleman said in a cold voice that sent a shiver down Lucy's spine.

The wind picked up and blew their clocks around their ankles. Lucy heard Natsu take a sharp intake of breath and she tensed. Natsu let out a deep growl as he confirmed the scent that drifted on the wind. Natsu could feel his anger rising as he took another breath, his blood boiling as his protective instincts began to kick in. Natsu took a step in front of Lucy protectively and she looked around him confused.

"Luce~" he started urgently but was cut off as the two men on either side of the smaller one launched at the small group.

Natsu pushed Lucy further behind him as he took the blunt of the attack from one of the bandits. He grunted and fought the mage head on. Lucy watched as the group around them shook with the impact. What kind of magic did this person use? Lucy turned around fast as six wolves leap out of the forest. She grabbed her whip, knowing that Natsu would be okay wit the mage. She felt intense heat behind her and knew the battle was raging.

"Open gate of the~" Lucy began but was cut off when she had to dodge a wolf that leapt towards her. She dodged but didn't' come away unscathed. The wolf had gotten her leg as she tired to roll away. Pain erupted on her thigh but she brushed it off standing on her good leg and continuing through the pain. She took out her whip and lashed it out at the creature in an attempt to keep it at a safe distance. She took the beast down smashing it into a nearby tree. She turned to the battle and found herself face to face with one of the bandits. She couldn't tell which one since they all looked similar. Lucy reached for her keys again but was roughly pulled backwards when a shadow encased her wrist and threw her against a tree. She crumbled to the ground but still managed to get up, her body screaming in protest.

Lucy slowly got up whip in one hand and the other hanging limply at her side. She winced as she leant against the tree; she knew she had broken her arm when she tried to break her fall against the tree. She turned and let the injured hand hover over her keys, which were humming with anticipation. She looked at the clocked figure in front of her in confusion. It was the shorter man of the three, and he hadn't joined the fight? It confused Lucy because she could sense his magical energy radiating from him and he was by far the strongest of the three, but why had he waited on the sidelines? She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard an eerie deep laugh emit from the cloaked figure in front of her.

"You are observant. Now we can talk," the cloaked figure said dropping the creepy laugh and speaking in a serious deep voice.

"What do you mean?" Lucy said itching to call Leo or Capricorn to aid her in beating this guy.

"I just wanted to chat without your team barging in," his voice echoed in her ears as her body went cold and fear started to creep into her system. He purposely separated her from the group. She glanced over at the battle that her team was currently fighting. She could hear Erza's sword connecting with metal, feel the cool blast from Gray's ice, then the heated pulse of Natsu's flames but they were at the other side of the clearing. She could hear Natsu yell her name, but he was to far away to be of any help. Lucy felt vulnerable, and exposed as she stood there looking at the cloaked figure in front of her. He had a purpose in this fight and he had succeeded. He wanted to talk, but about what?

Lucy cracked her whip aiming for his shoulder but he dodged easily. Lucy could see the small smile on the lower half of his face as he stepped forward.

"I just want to talk…. Star Gazer," Lucy froze her eyes widening at the name that had passed through his lips.

"Star Gazer…" she whispered as the icy feeling of pure fear ran through her veins.

"Yes that is the name I have given you. I'm glad we can finally chat Lucy. I have been waiting a long time for you to come to this town," the cloaked man said with a sly smile.

"I hope we can discuss what I have planned for you. I want results and I know that you have not completely figured out what I have intended for you. I may have put to much faith in you, at least I hope you understood that time is against you," he continued and took a step closer. That one step broke the paralyzing spell Lucy was under and she took a step back and fixed a determined gaze on the hooded figure. All the pieces from last night finally fell into place as she looked at the stranger who broke into her apartment.

"Now there is the spirit and determination I saw in you," the man said giving Lucy chills.

"How?" Lucy breathed finally finding her voice. "How did you know about my story? What's with the number? And why are you choosing me?" Lucy rambled off giving the stranger a glare that could rival Erza's.

"Now Star Gazer everyone has their secrets, but since I want action and results I shall tell you some things to get you motivated enough to begin. First you must know that I need you for my latest project and lets say that if you don't give me results well their will be dire consequences. Second is that I have given you time, like your precious character in your little story. I have chosen the number 6 for you correct, well I was referring to weeks. Now what to prepare for you might ask, well that shall be for you to find out, but I do suggest you train hard or else… well lets just say that your friends," he says gesturing to the fighting behind us, "well if I don't get the results or see you trying to avoid the inevitable well let's just say that they will fade away..." he says coldly but with an edge of excitement like this was all just a game to him.

"You monster," Lucy snarled at the man in front of her, which only got him to share a creepy grin with her.

"Such spirit, did you like the poem I left in Oak Town for you. I know that you wrote each one down," Lucy stood there fear trying to paralyze her. It was for her?

"You're a little slow sometimes Lucy, but I know your potential I can see it," he says tapping his head.

"Any questions," he asked still playing his little game.

"6 weeks yes?" Lucy asked trying to stall and clarify what this man was insinuating.

"Yes 6 weeks, or 40 days," he said happily.

"And if I don't "prepare" as you have said, you do something to my friends, my family, just so you can get me to comply with whatever it is you are planning," Lucy asked her hand slowly resting on her keys.

"Yes now do you have any meaningful questions or are you just making me repeat myself," he said taking another step forward with an evil smirk.

"Why not take me now. It saves you the trouble of waiting?" Lucy asked. _Why would this creep give me so much time, it just didn't add up_, Lucy thought as she tried not to panic and think rationally.

"Well you see you aren't ready yet. How did you put it, 'the Damsel in Distress' I think it was. Yes that was it~" but Lucy cut him off before he could continue.

"How did you know that?" she asked urgently. _What was this guy a mind reader? _She thought.

"Exactly Star Gazer. Let's just say we have a certain connection. It took awhile to develop but my magic is quite effective," he stated only further confusion her.

"You'll figure it out Lucy. Your not the brightest at the moment," he sated which infuriated her and she cracked her whip at his face.

He dodged again but this time he countered attacked. He leapt at her and aimed for her stomach. Lucy narrowly dodged and cracked her whip wrapping it around his foot. She pulled and he fell, but he kicked out his legs knocking her to the group as well. He punched her hard in the gut and she doubled over. She could feel Loki's key heat up wanting to help her. She went to reach for it but the clocked man prevented her from grabbing her key by roughly grabbing her hand. She could feel Loki's key pretty much leap in its spot when she couldn't reach it.

"LUCY!" Natsu yelled as she saw her fall to the ground and the clocked figure looming over her. He tired to warn her but the battle had begun. He had smelt the same stale scent that had riddled her apartment. He knew that the stranger was one of the clocked figures and after battling the other two he knew that Lucy was facing the creep. He told himself that he would protect her that he would keep Lucy safe, but he couldn't do that with these bandits and wolves blocking his path every time he tried to get to her. He finished another attack and stopped dead in his tracks his heart turning to ice when he heard a blood-curdling scream.

She heard Natsu call her name but she only had eyes for the person in front of her. At this angle Lucy could see the man's face. He had light blue eyes that looked almost white; he had four long scars running across his tanned face, with black hair framing his dark face. He was middle aged and was probably once quite handsome but his pale eyes and hideous scar completely contorted his face into a frightening look. His sly smile only added to the creepy chill that he sent to her spine.

"Now let me show you what happens to people who don't cooperate," he said and placed three fingers on her face. She watched as a black magic circle appeared in front of her face. Only a few seconds passed before her head exploded in darkness and pain. Lucy let out a wretched scream as she dived into a horrid nightmare.


	5. Chapter 5 - Aftermath

**Hi Everyone! Thank you for reading my story it makes me very happy to see that people are enjoying it. I'm sorry for the late update but i have a few days off and i'm going to attempt to get a few chapters up over the next two days :) Also i hope everyone has seen the newest episode! I was freaking out when the person at the door revealed who they were (Not going to give any spoilers hehe) Anyways i was definitely blindsided by that! Hope you all enjoy my next chapter :) Please Review I love hearing from people **

**I do not own Fairy Tail I just like to use the characters for my own plot **

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The cold night held an eerie feel in the cool winds that blew through the deserted streets of Oak Town. Not a single light flickered in the houses that adorned the small hill, and not even a stray cat walked across the empty streets. The only sound that could be heard was the eerie and horrifying scream of a young girl. It pierced through the night making the citizens of Oak Town stir uneasily in their sleeps, or wake and send a worried and horrified glance at the locked windows. The sounds of an ongoing battle barely audible over the never ending scream that pierced the heavens.

On the battlefield time seemed to freeze for the dragon slayer. The only sound reaching Natsu's ears was the piercing scream of his best friend. The battle all but forgotten as his focus was solely on his partner. He watched as the clocked man laughed as she screamed in agony. Lucy's head slowly moved backwards to look at the sky with clouded eyes as the man's hand rested on her face. Natsu could see the magic circle but had no idea what he was doing to Lucy. Natsu didn't care about the other enemies, he didn't care that more wolves slowly crept out of the darkness, the only thing that ran through his mind was _Save Lucy._

He could feel the fires licking his body as his legs began to move him towards Lucy. A bandit stepped in his path and anger flashed in Natsu's vision. Nothing would stand in his way. The bandit through a punch cloaked in shadows but Natsu quickly dodged bringing his knee to the stomach of the man and crumpling him to the ground. Natsu had begun to run at this point but a wolf lunged at him. Not breaking a step Natsu turned and punched the wolf clear across the clearing. Another wolf leapt at him but he dodged and kicked it into a nearby tree never breaking pace. His was enraged as Lucy's screams continued to echo through the clearing becoming worse with every second. He neared the clocked man and a growl escaped his lips making the man look up at him his hood covering his face, but the sneer that passed over his lips didn't go unnoticed by Natsu. The cloaked man quickly said something low and the magic circle flared and disappeared. He let go of Lucy and she slumped to the side falling unconscious to the ground her screams finally dying. Natsu was too far away to catch her, so he turned his dark eyes onto the clocked man hoping to beat him to a pulp for what he did to Lucy.

Natsu was running on pure rage as he leapt towards the man that had hurt Lucy. Natsu sent a fiery fist towards the man's temple but the clocked figure ducked and spun away from Lucy's unconscious body. Natsu sent a flaming foot at the man quickly, connecting with the man's body. The creep flew into a nearby tree but quickly righted himself and moved to the side, narrowly dodging a flaming fist that would have connected with his head. Natsu's fist was momentarily embedded deep into the trunk of the tree setting it on fire, but Natsu only retrieved his hand and got ready for another strike.

"My you are a protective one aren't you," the stranger teased Natsu with a grin as he dodged another one of Natsu's attacks.

"You will be a fun one to play with later, and judging by your reaction you may pose as a problem as well," the stranger said but Natsu didn't want to talk with the creep the only thing he wanted was to pound the guy into the ground, and that was his plan at the moment.

Lucy let out a panicked scream bringing Natsu up short on his next attack as he glanced worriedly at her. "What did you do?" he snarled at the cloaked man.

"Nothing that concerns you Dragon Slayer," he said with a wave of his hand as he took tentative steps away from the angry Dragon Slayer.

"Well I think my work here is done," the stranger said with a glance at Lucy. Natsu launched at him again doing his famous Dragon Wing Attack, which the man avoided with ease.

The cloaked figure landed a fair distance away from Natsu and smiled back at him. Natsu growled as he heard a low whistle coming from the clocked figure. Natsu watched as the wolves left the fight and crowded behind the shorter man. Then the two clocked mages abruptly ended their fights with Gray and Erza and appeared at the creep's side. The bandit that Natsu had hit with his knee brought his hands forward and the shadows responded immediately cloaking the group in darkness. Then they all disappeared into the shadows without a trace. Natsu ran to where they had once stood, trying to catch a whiff of the stale smell in order to track where they had disappeared too but no scent came. It was like they melted into the shadows of the forest, never to be seen or heard from again.

"Later…" Natsu said to himself as he scowled at where the short cloaked man had stood. Natsu couldn't help but feel uneasy at the departure of the strangers. The man had spoken like he would see Natsu again, and he didn't like that thought at all.

Natsu brushed a hand through his pink locks and turned back to Lucy. Natsu was frustrated because the creep had escaped, but his concern for Lucy triumphed his frustrated feelings. He went back to the edge of the forest and stopped. Erza and Gray were kneeling down beside a very still Lucy. His heart contracted with fear. _She couldn't be…_ he thought but stopped abruptly. He wouldn't ever think those thoughts. It wasn't possible. Lucy would never leave him. She wouldn't give up that easily. He hurried and knelt down beside her.

Natsu looked down at his best friend. At first he thought that his horrifying thought was actually true. Lucy's eyes were wide open her usual lively eyes were soulless and vacant of life. His breathing raced as he looked into her vacant eyes but was reassured when he saw the rise and fall of her chest. He didn't know what was happening but something was obviously wrong with Lucy. The clearing was silent as they sat there looking at Lucy whose eyes were trained on the star filled sky above.

Natsu watched as Lucy took a deep breath then emitted another blood curdling scream. She didn't thrash, or move she just laid there screaming into the night. Natsu didn't know what to do he panicked, he quickly cupped her check and brushed her blonde hair away from her face in an attempt to sooth her.

"Luce…." His voice cracking as he looked into her lifeless eyes.

"Luce it's okay. Your safe now," he said stroking her check.

Lucy's screams finally died and her eyes fluttered. Her eyes slowly shut but her breathing was racing. She was whispering something so quietly that Natsu could barely hear it. However her voice wasn't quiet enough.

"Tick… Tock…" she kept repeating as her voice became softer and her breath returned to normal.

"What did the creep do to her," Natsu snarled still brushing Lucy's golden locks as Lucy became unconscious.

"I have no idea, we need to get her somewhere safe. We need to get her to Wendy," Erza said her voice sounding a little hysterical as she tried to stay calm.

Natsu swiftly picked up Lucy bridal style and began to run back to the inn. He didn't wait to see if Erza and Gray were following he knew that Wendy was probably back at the hotel waiting for them to return. She would tell him what was wrong with Lucy. He had to know what the creep did to her, so he could beat the crap out of him in the future. Natsu didn't know why but he knew they would cross paths again. The subtle hind of "Later" in the man's speech was a big enough hint. When that time would come the clocked creep would not be hurting Lucy in any way shape or form. Natsu was going to hurt the creep for laying a hand on Lucy. Nobody touched, or hurt his Lucy . . .. His… Lucy? He questioned but pushed the thought away as he felt her stir in his arms.

"It's okay Luce. I got you," he whispered to her as he ran through the empty streets. She didn't acknowledge the words that Natsu spoke but he had to hope that she could here him. Wherever, or whatever Lucy was going through Natsu would be there, he would find her, help her, and protect her. He had done a very poor job tonight and he scolded himself for not looking out for her.

He had caught the stale scent in the breeze and tried to protect her but the bandits and wolves had attacked. When she was thrown away from the group which ending up with her getting separated he was panicked and angry. He tried to get to her but with a quick glance he saw her cracking her whip at the man keeping the distance between them. They seemed to be talking and he turned away for a minute to blast away a few wolf that was threatening Gray and Erza's backs. When he turned to aid her he saw her kneeling on the ground with the man hovering above her. Everything had happened so fast. He turned away for only a moment and everything had changed, and his world came crashing down around him. He hadn't protected her, he had turned away, and he wasn't even close to forgiving himself for those actions.

Natsu ran past the shop where the chase had begun and picked up on Wendy's scent of fresh air and grass. He followed the scent back to the hotel. He almost ran into the young Sky Dragon Slayer as he burst through the front doors. Wendy stumbled and fell backwards and the two exceeds stopped their flight abruptly. Natsu barely registered the gasps from all three of them and brushed past them with urgency.

"Wendy…" is all he said to get the young girl out of her stunned state, as she hurried after him.

Natsu burst into their hotel rooms and quickly went to the closest bed. He gently laid down the sleeping Lucy on the bed and knelt down beside the bed not wanting to go far. Wendy hurried to the other side of the bed her hands already glowing with magic as she scanned Lucy's body for injury. She paused at an arm, but she continued her sweep. Natsu watched as Wendy's brow furrowed then her hands came to rest on either side of Lucy's head. Natsu watched intently as Wendy stayed there for several minutes before the glow faded and she stepped back with a sad expression.

"What is it Wendy?" Natsu asked glancing worriedly at the sleeping Lucy. Wendy opened her mouth but was interupted when the door's burst open.

Gray and Erza came running through the door and ran to the bed. Both had sad, and worried expression written on their faces, and Natsu could only assume that his own face mirrored them. Wendy looked down at Lucy again with a sigh and then began fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

"Wendy?" Natsu prompted and Wendy finally met his gaze, worry clear in her big eyes.

"Her arm is broken, and she has bruised ribs that I can fix easily but that's not what I'm worried about…" Wendy started and then looked at Lucy worriedly.

"It's okay Wendy," Carla said laying a paw on Wendy's shoulder.

"I can't tell the extent of it but Lucy seems to be under a powerful sleeping enchantment. It's completely fogged her brain and I can't tell how long she will be under it, it could be days or…" Wendy trailed off letting the other's make the conclusion themselves.

Silence enveloped the room all of them looking down at the sleeping Lucy. Lucy's brow was furrowed and it looked like she was having a troubled dream. Her breathing began to race and a faint _no_ escaped her lips before her breathing became regular again. Everyone in the room was worried. It showed in their creased eyebrows and turned down lips. Each one fidgeting in their own way.

"What do we do?" Happy asked breaking the heavy silence as he landed by Lucy's head and curled up beside her.

"We wait for her to wake up?" Natsu stated simply moving a chair beside her bed waiting for his best friend to wake.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Nightmare

**Hello Everyone! Here is the next chapter, I tried to go a little dark but i struggled with it. Hope it's okay. Please Review I would love to hear what you think or what you think i should add. **

**I do not own fairy tail i just like to use the characters and settings :) **

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Darkness and Pain. Lucy was falling into a pit of darkness that suffocated her lungs, pinched her muscles, and twisted her stomach. She was falling away from the beautiful lights that echoed above her. One star shown brighter than the rest calling out to her, but the darkness around her clouded her vision making it hard to focus. The star pulsed in a panicked fashion then was swept away like a cloud. Lucy's throat was soar from screaming for so long but the pain never ended it just kept coming in waves pounding her into the darkness.

Lucy could hear something flutter in the darkness, like a voice drifting with the waves of pain. It began as a nice sound of laughter reminding her of her childhood and playing in the gardens with her mother. The laughter became deeper and brought memories of her time at the guild and one toothy grin. She smiled through the pain as memories of laughter fluttered through the darkness. However, that laughter soon turned dark and manic making Lucy shiver in fear. All happy thoughts drifting from her pained mind. The laughter pulsed through the darkness crushing her eardrums.

"Tick, Tock Star Gazer, Welcome to my playground and the beginning of your nightmare," an eerie voice thundered around her.

As soon as the voice ceased Lucy slammed against a hard surface. An eerie voice still drifting in the dense air, whispering tick tock in her ear. She groaned flattening her hand against the hard surface her eyes shut tight. Her body was still shaking with pain as she rested her head against the smooth surface. Taking a breather she waited for more pain but the waves never came. Finally managing enough body strength she lifted herself into a standing position taking in her surroundings for the first time.

Lucy looked up to come face to face with herself, many versions of herself. She knew she had cuts and bruises littering her arms, she had the faint memory of breaking her arm against a tree, but it only admitted a faint throb. However the image in front of her was perfect. Smooth pale skin littered her fair arms, her eyes were bright and not scarred with pain, and her hair was smooth and shinning. It wasn't an image of herself, but an image of a healthy, unharmed, and perfect Lucy. Honestly it creeped Lucy out, seeing herself completely unscratched standing in front of her. Lucy moved her right hand to brush the blood away from her check but froze when the figure in front of her stood still.

Lucy looked at the other images and every single one was perfect all staring at her with bright and unwavering stares. She turned in a small circle looking at all the mirror images none of them following her movement like they usually should. She returned to the original mirror she first saw and the image smiled at her. Lucy flinched at the smile and furrowed her eyes at the image. Confused and utterly creeped out.

"Lucy Heartfillia. The weak link in Fairy Tail's strongest team. The last Celestial Mage in the world, the last of a dying breed. Do you feel alone Lucy Heartfillia? Your parents are gone; your friends think you are weak. How will you protect those you love when you are too weak to protect yourself? Can you protect your new family, can you protect the one's you love. You couldn't save your family, your mother to sickness, your father left before you could make amends, even your "sister" felt betrayed and has left you. Look at you and look at me. I am what you want to be, perfect, strong, and fearless... Can you achieve it?" The mirror Lucy said bringing up every buried truth and fear that Lucy kept deep down and hidden. The mirror Lucy brought her hand up touching one finger to the glass shattering the perfect image into little shards.

Lucy shielded her eyes and turned towards the ground below her. The shards of glass never came instead faint sand brushed against her cheeks with a slight breeze. Lucy lifted her gaze for the second time to take in her surroundings. Lucy stood in a very bright and empty desert. The bleak sky stretched out above her and the golden sand stretched below her. She wasn't alone in the empty desert. A dark shadow loomed above her, casting a menacing shadow over her. She stood and took in the shadow before her, but before she could voice any questions or concerns it swirled around her. Lucy was about to follow it when six figures in front of her caught her attention.

Lucy found a sense of relief as she looked at the six people in front of her. They were her closest friends and the people she held dearest to her heart, and the sight of them washed away all the panic and fear that she was feeling only a few seconds ago. However those happy thoughts soon faded when she noticed that each one of them held a blank and emotionless look. Something was off and it sent her nerves into a frenzy. Her thoughts were answered when the shadow returned to whisper in her ear. A shiver racked her body, making her cold and fearful again.

"The people you hold closest to your heart," the shadow whispered as it floated around her like smoke.

"Let's start with the short master shall we," the shadow swirled around Master Makarov and Lucy found she couldn't move, like something was keeping her rooted to the spot making her unable to aid her friends. She looked up at her friends, unable to move or help them at all. The shadow began to speak in a joyful and sinister tone.

"Mater Makarov the father figure," it said almost sincerely. "After the loss of your father Makarov helped you through the pain. Even before that Makarov had filled a father role, bringing the meaning of nakama to life your fragile heart. He cares for all of his children and its one of the reasons that you felt so at home at Fairy Tail," Lucy tried to move as the shadow enveloped Makarov and she heard her second father scream in pain.

Lucy fought against the invisible bounds yelling a frightened _no_ to the black smoke that now covered her master. She watched in horror as Makarov was encased in shadows and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke that covered him. He was gone. Disappeared without any kind of fight. Just gone. Lucy couldn't wrap her head around that fact. Makarov couldn't be gone... Lucy could feel the tears stinging her eyes as she watched the shadow move to the next figure. Lucy was screaming at this point yelling _NO_ at the shadow now that was creeping up to Wendy. Wendy didn't acknowledge any of it just stared blankly back into Lucy's tearful eyes.

"Please No!" Lucy whimpered as a black hand laid on the top of Wendy's head.

"The little sister you never had," it began with a laugh. "You admire so many qualities in her, her innocence, her kind heart, and her helpful nature. You love how caring she is and you would do anything to protect her from the harsh world. Your memories of her a quite adorable," the shadow said then began to laugh with a manic sneer.

Lucy screamed as she watched the shadows devour her little sister; Wendy's screams echoing throughout Lucy's mind. Lucy slumped in the invisible bounds as Wendy disappeared and the shadow moved to the next figure. Not Wendy too. She was so sweet but fought with such determination. She couldn't be gone... Lucy's heart tightened knowing what was coming as the shadow stopped at Levy. Lucy couldn't believe this was happening. The shadow was torturing her with reminding her of why she loved each person in front of her, then he would make her watch as they withered and screamed in pain. There eyes were what tore at her the most, they remained vacant and distant until the shadows began to creep up their legs making them scream in pain. The emotion and life she saw return to their eyes once the pain began was to much for Lucy to handle, it was breaking her on the inside.

"Now for you dearest girl friend Levy McGarden. The first girl you instantly had a connection with. You share your love of books and knowledge with each other; also she is the one person that you confide in for "girl problems" and "boy talk"," it said with fake understanding. "You two are quite the pair, gushing over romantic books, and the story you have been writing. Quite the bond you have made with each other," he said and with those words Levy screamed in agony. Lucy flailed against her bonds wishing that she was going though the pain instead of her friends.

Levy disappeared with a final scream and the shadow honed in on the next subject. Lucy eyes were streaming with tears as her eyes focused on the next person in front of her. Gray looked at her with vacant eyes and she couldn't hold it any more. She knew who the last three people were. They had the most impact on her life, her closest and dearest friends that were kept near her heart. With her eyes firmly closed she waited to hear the usual tale the shadow told, but when silence was the only thing that filtered through her ears she risked a glance at her surroundings. She lifted her head to find herself face to face with the shadow.

"Ready for the ending Star Gazer?" the shadow asked a twisted smile forming in the shadows around her.

"Please stop. Why are you doing this?" Lucy screamed into the darkness, her vision blurry and her voice hoarse.

"Because Star Gazer these are your brightest stars, the ones that will burn out when your time come's to an end," the eerie voice whispered in her ear as a hand stroked her tangled blonde hair. She shuddered and tried to turn away from the hand but the invisible bonds kept her in place. She squeezed her eyes shut wanting the pain she felt in her heart to disappear, not wanting any more of her friends to get hurt by the shadow.

Everything was silent as Lucy squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't move and she held her breath waiting for the screams to start but none came. Taking a shaking breath Lucy opened her eyes slowly only to find herself in a familiar setting. Lucy stood in the middle of the fairy tail guildhall. It was the one that fairy tail had at the moment and she couldn't help but feel a little relief at being there instead of the empty desert. She looked at the cracked paint, and the bricks that showed through some of the walls. The scattered table's and the old wooden bar brought back happy memories. The only thing off about it was that nobody was in sight. The usual happy and loud guild was deathly silent and it made her want to shrink into a corner and disappear.

Lucy slowly began to back out the door, not liking the silent atmosphere that seemed to thicken the air. The room seemed to darken with each step. The shadows lengthened, and cast the usually happy and bright guild into darkness. Lucy's breath became heavy and weak, her lungs rough like sandpaper. Lucy's back bumped into the guild door that scratched into her back. Her hand fumbled for the door handle but she never found it. Lucy whirled around to try and escape but the door didn't budge. She slammed her good shoulder into the wooden door but she only bounced off. She grunted and tried again, as a cold fear dripped down her spine. Lucy stopped when she heard the laughter of her good friends come from behind her.

"Lucy what are you doing?" a female voice said in humour with a hint of seriousness.

"Lucy I know you're in a hurry but this is just sad," a cool voice said and she could imagine the smirk that would be on his face.

"Luce your such a weirdo," a finale male voice said and she turned to face the toothy grin of her best friend, the smirk of the young man whom was like a brother, and the smile directed at the floor by the woman whom was like a sister to her.

The guild was still cast in darkness but the sight of her three closest friends seemed to bring brightness to the room. Her throat didn't feel constricted and she could feel the tension roll of her at the sight of them. They were okay, they hadn't been harmed like the others. She couldn't help the small feeling of hope blossom in her chest. Lucy didn't remember how she had gotten into this situation but she couldn't help but think that maybe the torture had stopped and they were being let free.

To Lucy's horror she watched as her hope shattered like the building around her. The walls began to cave, and the ground began to shake. Lucy yelped and toppled backwards into the door, which opened with her weight. Lucy briefly looked up at the sky and her eyes widened in shock. The sky was a blood red with tendrils of black smoke curling down towards her guild. Lucy's fear returned like a wave as she scrambled up and away from the crumbling building. Her teammates made it out as well and they stood there looking at their once happy and loveable guildhall.

"Is everyone okay," Lucy managed to croak looking at her teammates for injuries. They all shook their heads. They were fine making Lucy relax only a little.

"Luce look," Natsu said pointing behind the ruined guild his face grim and serious.

Lucy turned to look at the red sky, and the crumbled building. She gasped as she saw the shadow's that had taken her three other friends from her billowing towards them like a sand storm. The air from Lucy's lungs seized as she stumbled backwards and grabbed Natsu and Erza's hands and shoved Gray forward.

"Run now! And don't let it touch you!" Lucy screamed as she shoved everyone in front of her getting them to run ahead of her.

They ran as fast as they could, jumping over rocks, and bits of houses. It was hard to tell that it was Magnolia they were running through. The buildings had cracked and looked worn with age. Some had collapsed to the ground in heaps of rubble. There were no people, no animals, and no wind. It was dead silent. The only sound echoing through the ghost town was the heavy footfalls of Team Natsu and the ragged breathing that accompanied it. Lucy was tiring but she wouldn't slow down, knowing what lay behind them in the swirling mass of black smoke was enough to keep her going. The world around them was becoming darker and darker. The blood red sky deepening into an eerie red glow.

Lucy saw a flicker of movement to her right. It was brighter than the dark backdrop they had begun to run through and it caught her attention. Lucy caught herself before she face planted into the pavement below her. The scene Lucy glimpsed was from her own memory. The first time she had set eyes on the guild when Natsu had brought her to Fairy Tail. The image faded quickly and she returned to the back of her Team. However it wasn't the end of the glimpses into her memories.

Lucy watched as images of her most treasured memories with these three people flashed by her. The time they had all switched bodies and she had ended up in Gray's ice-cold body. The time where Natsu had dug up the Sakura tree and floated it down the river. The first mission she went on with Team Natsu. The time's that her and Erza would dress up and go out together on missions. Every time her team had shown up in her apartment, and she would be furious, but also amused. Every fight went by in a blur. The moments they stood up for each other, the times they fought for each other. They had learnt so much about each other. About each other's pasts, and struggles. They had cried together and laughed together. Lucy wiped away the tears that had started to flow down her checks. She had so many wonderful memories with her teammates. They were her closest and dearest friends, and she truly loved each one of them.

Lucy looked up as she heard her name. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as she looked at her friends. They had stopped not to far ahead of her and were in a battle stance. The black cloud loomed high in front of them; it's black tendrils curling towards them like bony fingers. If anyone was going to get hurt it would be her she thought determinedly. She would protect her family. She brought out her whip in her good hand and reached for her keys. She cursed to herself when she found that her keys were missing from her hip. Lucy pushed past them putting herself between them and the smoke and to her surprise the smoke it backed away. Lucy was at a loss of what to do though. She couldn't fight smoke, it was air, and you couldn't even catch it with your bare hands. How could she fight it? The only good thing was that it seemed to shy away from her.

Lucy turned to tell her teammates to stay close since the smoke seemed to stay away from her but the only response she got was a blood-curdling scream. Lucy turned very slowly as fear washed down her spine like a waterfall. The sight behind her made her scream, even though her throat was raw, and her lungs hurt with each breath. Her own pain didn't compare to the horrid scene that was happening in front of her. Her three teammates were neck deep in shadow, all screaming into the blood red sky. Their eyes were wild and their faces were twisted in pain. She had to stop this. They couldn't disappear like the others. Lucy took one step towards them and they all crumpled to the floor.

The black smoke was still there but instead of clinging to their bodies it seemed to roll of them like steam. It was eerie and Lucy felt her gut twist. Something was very wrong with this picture. Lucy's nerves were on high alert as she silently took another step towards her friends. None of them were moving, but Lucy could see the shallow breath's moving their chests up and down. This was different than before Lucy thought as she wiped away her many tears. Lucy took another step forward and knelt down by Natsu who was the closet one to her. Reaching out a shaking hand she touched his shoulder and his eyes opened immediately.

"Your okay," she sobbed as more tears began to flow down her checks. Her sense of relief and hope returning but was shattered when Natsu pushed her roughly backwards making her fall beside him.

"Get away from me," he said in a harsh tone as he stood, which made her flinch.

Lucy watched as Gray and Erza slowly stood beside Natsu. All of their eyes were fixed on her with cold un-nerving stares. The black smoke curled away from them making them look darker and meaner than she knew they were.

"Are you guy's okay?" Lucy said her voice shaking with fear as she looked at her now terrifying friends.

"Yea were fine," Gray spat at her.

"Why would you care?" Erza said her piercing gaze boring through Lucy.

"You're my friends, my family, of course I care if you guy's are okay," Lucy retorted with more confidence in her voice than she felt.

"Family? We're not your family, hell we aren't even your friends," Natsu said as he punched one hand into the other, obviously insulted by what she said.

Lucy flinched at his words. Disbelief, betrayal, and fear eating away at her heart. Why? Why were they acting like this? And why did it hurt so much to hear these words coming from them? Lucy slowly stood facing her friends. It was that smoke, it had done something to them. Something that had altered their perspective it was the only thing that made sense. Her friends never turned on each other. They were all about nakama and family. They fought for each other, they never blamed each other, and they always stayed together no matter the circumstances. This was not her family.

Lucy looked up at her teammates, ready to save them from the spell they were under but she faltered and stumbled back. It wasn't just Natsu, Erza and Gray anymore. Wendy, Levy and Makarov had joined beside them. All six of her closest friends were there. The black smoke emitted from each one of them gathering at their feat and circling around Lucy. It looked like a black river as the smoke rolled across the ground in waves to form a giant pool behind her.

She backed up closer to the black pit behind her. Her body was shaking and tears streaked down her face, she had stopped wiping them away long ago. She looked at the determined and frightening faces before her. Her friend's eyes reflecting rage and betrayal as they looked at her with scowls. They weren't her friends or family anymore. She could see it in every one of their eye's. The cold and deathly look they all gave her, they had lost something. That black smoke had taken it away. She had already confirmed this with Team Natsu, and it was perfectly clear now what had happened to them all. They had lost that trait and had become monsters. One small thing had switched them all, and that one thing was family.

"You didn't save us Lucy. You were to slow, to weak. You can't protect us," they all said in unison.

"I-I tired. I don't want any of you to get hurt. I- I'm sorry," Lucy chocked out as she stumbled.

"Your weak. How could you even call us your friends, your family," They all said again.

"Please. Your not yourselves," Lucy pleaded glancing as Natsu stepped forward. His head cast down to scowl at her.

"Your out of time Luce. Look what you made us become," he said in a cold and emotionless voice that she had only ever heard towards his enemies and then he pushed her hard making her fall backwards and into the abyss.

"Time's up Star Gazer," they said again as she fell away from her friends and family.

"No I need more time. Please I can't loose them, I won't let it happen," she yelled as her family became smaller. The manic laughter echoed around her as the darkness started to take her vision. The last image she had was Natsu's face contorted in an evil laugh and dark menacing eyes before she was swallowed by the darkness once again.


	7. Chapter 7 - Coming Together

**Hello Fairies! Here is the next chapter. I actually wrote part of this while i was camping and fishing :) Hope you like it. It's kind of a stepping stone chapter, but it is needed for the story line to progress. So I hope you like it. Also I'm asking for your help. I need a name for the man in the cloak and I am completely stuck. I've been trying to think of a name for the past week and a half and still haven't come up with anything, I can't keep calling him the creep, or creepy cloaked man. If you have any ideas i would love to hear them :) **

**Please Read and Review **

**I do not own Fairy Tail **

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Lucy's body felt heavy. Her limbs felt like lead and her head pounded like a drum, making the pain spike with every beat. Every muscle in her body was sore and pinched with pain. If Lucy didn't know any better she would have thought that someone had used her body as a punching bag. To her surprise her body was rested between comfortable sheets and her head lay against a fluffy pillow instead of the leaves and dirt ground she had been expecting. Lucy could tell she was lying in a bed as her senses slowly started to focus on her surroundings through the haze she was emerging from.

Lucy took a slow breath trying to recount what had happened before she blacked out. Lucy flinched and then let out a pained moan as memories assaulted her hazy mind. The battle. The cloaked bandits. The mysterious magic circle that appeared before her eyes as she watched the sky fade into darkens. What happened after that? Did the rest of them get out okay? What happened to the one that called her Star Gazer, the one who gave her the warning, the one who would harm her friends if she didn't do what he said. Lucy let out a sob as her nightmare came crashing down on her. He did that to her. He played with her memories and made it into his own little sick game. He tortured her with those images. He had shown her what he could do and it had set the seed of fear deep into her heart.

Lucy took a deep breath. The haze of her mind slowly clearing with the reality of the situation she was in. She had to make sure her friends were okay? She had to make sure that her nightmare hadn't become a reality. Lucy cracked open one eye in an attempt to take in her surroundings. It was dark and her eyes slowly began to adjust to the lack of light. Lucy was looking up at a plain white ceiling. She blinked trying to focus her hazy eyes before she dared look any further. She slowly moved her head to the left having a strange sense of deja-vu as she looked for anything she might recognize. Lucy looked at the tacky lamp and the bedside table. She saw her bright golden and silver keys lying on the small table and she quickly snatched them and clutched to her chest. She hadn't had them in her dream which had terrified her. Relief filled her she was so glad to see that they were okay. She focused back on the lampshade, it had a ruffled lampshade but it didn't strike her as familiar. She looked past it and saw 4 other beds all with the same tacky bed sheets that completely contrasted the lampshade. It was a horrendous scene of terrible fashion sense but it brought a huge relief to Lucy's fragile heart and mind. It had taken a little but she remembered feeling the same cringe worthy feeling when she had first set eyes on the inn they had been staying at. Only this room was bigger than the one she had previously inhabited. However it now seemed like years ago that she had seen these bed sheets.

Lucy felt the bed shift below her and she froze, only making her muscles scream in protest at the sudden use. The fear that had cracked her heart spread through her system making her fear the worse. She slowly looked to her right and her eyes focused on pink. It took her a second for her mind to process what it was looking at but her mind finally connected to what her eyes had seen. It was none other than the pink hair of her best friend. Lucy relaxed back into the pillow, happy finally to see one of her friends. However that fear didn't' quite leave as she watched the top of Natsu's head. She studied him. It seemed that he was partially sitting in a chair but had slumped over and fallen asleep on the side of her bed. She let a small smile grace her lips as she took in Natsu's sleeping form.

Very slowly she sat up against the back of the bed. Her body screamed in protest and she bit down on her lip to hold back a scream. This probably wasn't the best thing to be doing with such a sore body but Lucy had to get a better look at her surroundings. Lucy didn't know how long she had been out of it, to her it felt like years, but it could have been a few hours, to a few days, and she needed answers. She didn't see any of the rest of her team, which worried her. Yes they could have just left the room to get food, or to get some rest, but it disturbed her, because she didn't know. For all she knew they could have been captured or hurt by the cloaked bandits. With deep regret Lucy brought a bandaged hand out from under the covers to wake the peaceful looking Natsu.

He looked so peaceful with his pink hair covering his sleeping face. He looked so young and content that she couldn't help but think it was a crime to wake someone who looked so comfortable. Another small smile spread across her lips as she looked at her best friend for another moment. She let her bandaged hand reach out towards him. She couldn't reach his shoulder without pain, so she settled for the top of his head. Her fingers slipped through the pink locks of Natsu's hair. It always surprised her how soft his hair actually was. Her smile grew as she continued to brush through his hair with tender strokes, secretly loving every moment of it. She finally felt him stir beneath her fingers. She heard him mumble something under his breath and she stifled a giggle, before his eyes shot open and he sat upright so quickly she yelped in surprise.

"Luce!" he said his eyes sharp with disbelief and suprise.

"Hey sleepy head," she said her voice hoarse and rough to her ears. How long had she been asleep? She questioned faintly as she looked at Natsu's surprised expression.

"Your okay," he said with finality and concern as his face slipped from surprise to relief. How long? She thought more forcefully.

"Just a little sore, what happened? Is everyone else okay? What happened to the bandits? Did we catch them?" the questions falling out one after the other and becoming more desperate with each word. She hadn't realized how much she needed answers to the many questions in her mind.

Natsu silenced her as he reached out and grasped her hand firmly. His dark onyx eyes were soft with relief and only a hint of concern sparked inside them. She could feel the fear returning in her heart. Spreading through her veins and making her feel cool and afraid. His warm hand brought the fear to halt but it didn't smoother it. Lucy knew that her teammate could read her easily, just like she could easily read him. They had gotten very close over the time she had spent in Fairy Tail. They knew so much about each other and could read each other easily. Always knowing what the other was feeling or needing. Lucy knew Natsu could see the fear in her eyes, and the desperation she was seeking in those unanswered questions.

"Your okay, that's what matters. Everyone else is fine Luce. A few cuts and bruises but it was nothing Wendy couldn't handle," he said with a warm smile knowing that was the answer she wanted the most and he gave their hands a tight squeeze before he let go.

"Do you remember anything?" he asked his eyes quickly leaving her's briefly before returning.

Lucy visibly flinched at the question. How could she forget? But could she tell them about what she went through? Her nightmare was centered around them and the torture that she went through in an attempt to protect them. It had all felt too real. She had actually thought it had happened until she had woken up. However Lucy couldn't help but feel like it had all meant something. Some warning to the words the stranger had muttered before he cast her into that nightmare. But what had it all meant? Lucy offered Natsu a stiff nod to his question as her mind rolled in turmoil.

"I remember everything," she stated simply letting her eyes glare at the bed sheets between them, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"What happened to me Natsu?" she asked finally bringing her watery eyes to look up at her best friend who's face was creased with worry with hints of rage beginning to flicker in his features. He wasn't happy about something.

"You've been in a magically induced sleep. You've been out of it for days~" Natsu started but Lucy quickly cut him off.

"How long?" she demanded.

"3 days," he said his anger fading only a little and was replaced with sadness.

"I- We've all been really worried. Happy thought you were never going to wake up. He almost stopped eating fish," he said emphasizing the _almos_t and Lucy couldn't help but giggle at Happy antics.

"Happy's always had a flare for the dramatic," she said letting the happy comment chase away her fear. They fell into a content silence until Natsu broke it with a question.

"You're sure you are okay Luce?" he asked emphasizing the _you_ in his question.

"Honestly. I've been better. It wasn't the nicest experience of my life," Lucy said her voice wavering and showing her true emotions behind the vague comment.

Lucy glanced up at Natsu to see his hands gripping the bed sheets tightly, with his brow furrowed in anger. He was angry, very angry, but about what? Lucy watched as his eyes danced with anger and she reached out a small hand laid it carefully on his fisted hand. She watched as the fire in his eyes died down only to smouldering embers. He let out a long breath before he spoke.

"Luce I couldn't protect you. You were screaming your head off in that clearing. You looked like you were in so much pain and there was nothing we could do. Every since then you've been calling out in your sleep. Sometimes calling out our names and sometimes just screaming no at the top of your lungs. You've been crying and thrashing… we couldn't do anything but sit and watch as you screamed our names… I need to know what that creep did to you," he demanded his eyes flashing with intensity.

"Natsu... it wasn't pleasant. It was like a stepped right into my worst nightmare but I thought it was real. It felt like my world had collapsed around me, and everyone I loved had been ripped away and I was to weak to do anything…" she said trailing off as the memory flooded her mind. Every loss she experienced opened like a fresh wound. The hurtful but truthful words her friends had said to her. It was horrible and she could feel a stray tear making its track down her face.

"Don't cry Luce. It's over now. I still would like to know, but you can take your time in telling me okay," and she nodded to his understanding.

"Next time I see the bastard I'm going to beat the crap out of 100 times over," he said cracking his knuckles, not noticing Lucy freeze and her breathing becoming panicked.

"He... escaped?" Lucy almost whispered her fear returning like a hurricane.

"Yea him and his pet wolves all disappeared into shadows. Their was no trace of them. Luce what's wrong?" he asked watching as Lucy bunched up the bed sheets in her shaking hands.

He was still out there waiting for her. Waiting for her to complete his story. Waiting for her to get stronger only to be able to use her. Waiting to harm her friends and family. Staying out there to keep that fear planted firm in her heart to make sure she did exactly what he wanted. Her glimmer of hope that he had gotten caught and was locked up deep in a cell somewhere had disappeared with Natsu's words. Her time was officially against her. What could she do other than do what he said? Could she prevent what hid in her future? – No- he had made it quite clear if she tried to fight he would harm her friends. And now that he lurked out there in the shadows she didn't know what to do. She couldn't just let him do as he wished with her….

Lucy was pulled out of her thoughts as a warm hand landed on her shoulder. He had been doing this a lot for her lately and she was grateful for him always watching out for her.

"Luce tell me what's wrong?" he pleaded.

Natsu… I'm scarred," she voiced honestly as she sat there feeling like she was drowning in her own fear of the unknown.

"Luce. Everyone has their fears. Don't be ashamed to face them. Your brave Luce never forget that. And don't forget that you don't have to face them alone. I'll always be here okay," he said and Lucy could feel fresh tears burning her eyes at his words. He was right. She didn't have to face her fears alone. Her friends and family were always there for her when she needed them.

"I'll tell you everything. I think Gray, Erza, Wendy and the exceeds should know as well," Lucy said finally coming to a decision in her jumbled mind.

Natsu got up with a nod knowing what she was also insinuating. The stranger that broke into her apartment. It was time that everyone knew what was going on with Lucy and the mysterious shadow. Natsu hurried out of the room to get the others, while Lucy sat there gathering her thoughts together. She was going to tell them about the break in and the mysterious message written on her story. They had a right to know what was going on and she didn't want to go through this alone. Lucy would tell them as much as they needed to know. She would give them a set amount of time she needed to get things done by but she would be leaving some details out. Things that she didn't' want them to burden themselves with. These few details are what she would carry for them. This was her problem that she would have to figure out. Mostly the images of her dream is what she wanted to keep from them and her actual amount of time. They didn't need to know how short her time was. She didn't want to burden with the upcoming doom that was her future. She would connect the dots for them though and give them as much information as she was willing to share. They would do this together. They were her nakama they stood up for each other, they fought for each other, and they never left a friend behind. Together Lucy hoped they would have a chance against the stranger in the cloak that was the image of Lucy's fear.

* * *

Lucy sat on her bed explaining everything she knew about the cloaked figure that had put her under the sleeping spell. She had recalled the break-in and watched as Erza and Gray had become furious. It had taken awhile to calm them down, and after some persuading she convinced everyone to remain silent until she finished her story. She mentioned the connection she had deciphered with her story telling them that the stranger had set her an amount of time. She didn't dare tell them how much, but she reassured them it wouldn't be soon, saying that was all she knew. She briefly mentioned the connection to the weird poem they had found in the houses around town and said that it was the creep's way of leaving her a sick message. She also outlined his plan for her, and how he wanted to use her in the future to gain something. She also vaguely went over her horrifying dream. She left out some details letting them fill it themselves, mostly saying that he used her own memories of them against her and that it had been horrifying and exceptionally real. When she had finished her tale they all sat there deep in thought.

Lucy already felt lighter, letting the others share in her fears had been a good idea and maybe they would have some idea of where to go next.

"Well I think it's obvious that you want to begin training," Erza stated. "Whether to go with this man's sick plan, or to get stronger so you can beat him."

"Yea actually I've been thinking about it for a while now. Even before all this happened. I wanted to become stronger in order to protect myself, especially after the infinity cloak. I didn't want to be targeted anymore, and just end up getting captured. But your right I think i should train, even though it's what he wants, I would have a better chance of fighting back if I ever encounter him again," Lucy said with determination.

"Good we will begin after we get back to Magnolia. You can train with each one of us, and maybe a few others from the guild. We will set up a schedule. Energy building in the morning, combat in the afternoon. We will have to leave some room for specialization..." Erza said listing off the many things she wanted Lucy to work on, and getting happier by the minute. Lucy couldn't help but be a little scarred at the idea of being the head trainer in her little group. And Erza looked way to eager to begin weapon training. But Lucy was still grateful.

"Thanks guy's it means a lot," she said smiling at her friends.

"We're in this together Luce," Natsu said giving her a tooth grin.

She returned it immediately feeling her heart swell with pride and warmth for her friends. This was going to be okay. They could do this together. Nothing could tare them apart.

* * *

Far off deep in a forest sat a little cave shrouded in low hanging trees hidden from wandering eyes in the forest. A deep manic laughter could be heard echoing throughout the quite forest, emitting form the depths of the dark cave. Through the shadows in the cave and down a hidden passageway one man was sitting over a glass bowl his head thrown back in laughter as he howled at the image below. His black cloak hung loosely over a wooden chair. The man's pale eyes snapped open and his scarred face sneered into a manic grin as he looked down at the black liquid that filled the bowl.

"Yes Star Gazer. Tell them your tale. It will only make it more fun to take you away from them later," the man laughed as he put a hand over the bowl.

A black magic circle appeared with the faint golden sparks etched into the sides appeared above the bowl and the image of Lucy lying in her bed, surrounded by her friends slipped away into darkness. The man grabbed his cloak and made his way through the twisted tunnel that hid at the back of the cave. Deep inside the mountain the man emerged in a cavern lit with faint lacrima's and dripping candles. The top of the cavern had a hole letting in the faint glow of the moonlight above. The faint glimmer of stars just visible through the gap in the earth. He walked up to an odd machine. Metal cascading around it like a cage. It looked like a tear drop as one end extended towards the bright moon above and then gathered into a fat tear at the bottom near the man. The rough metal holding everything in place and was attached to the rocky walls of the cavern gave the appearance of spider legs clinging to the walls. A pure black rock lay in the middle of the teardrop, which seemed to pulse to life with an unknown energy. The man walked up to it and placed a gentle hand on the black surface.

"Soon I shall have her and the others. It's only a matter of time my pet till we can have what we both desire," he said petting the black stone affectionately.

The hum of power pulsed again and the man smiled up at the black rock. The man only gave a throaty laugh at the pulse of magic coming from the rock, satisfied that it was as eager as him. _Soon,_ he thought _Soon I shall have the power to conquer the world, _he thought eagerly as he made his way back to the his chambers. He through his head back enjoying the thrill of his little game, and his ingenious plan. His manic laughter echoing through the night air.


	8. Chapter 8 - Dear mom,

**Hello Fairies!**

** Here is the next chapter. I had some trouble writing this chapter since i didn't want to do a whole bunch of chapters on just training, so i came to the decision that i would write them in letters. 6 letters in total, all coming from different and exciting points in her 40 days of training. Hope you like it. There is some cute, and funny moments, and some major plot points throughout the letters. Hope you all enjoy. **

**Read and Review :) **

* * *

_Dear Mom,_

_ Sorry I haven't written in a while. It's been a hard and long few days. We arrived back from our mission about a week ago and Erza has already started training me. Let me tell you mom, I had not anticipated that Erza was a slave driver. Yes I have heard stories of her educating Natsu when they were young, but I didn't expect it to be that intense. The first day she had me run 3 laps around Magnolia. Doesn't sound that hard right. Wrong. She also had weights hanging form my shoulders and she would run beside me and "encourage" me. It was terrifying but I am proud to say I did it. _

_ She did set up a schedule for me, which seems to be fair, but its intense. She wants me to run in the mornings, than mediate for another hour before coming to the guild in the morning. Which means early mornings, ugh! She has hand-to-hand combat, weapon training, spirit training, and then actual battles. However the battles wont begin to latter. She wants me to get some skill first before I go against someone like Natsu, or Gray. I shudder at the thought of that. _

_ Talking about Natsu, he has been very supportive lately. He still get's on my nerves when he eats all my food, but all in all he's been really sweet. I know, I know it sounds like before, when Mira tricked me into thinking he wanted more in our relationship, but I swear that's not happening. I can tell he is worried, and I think he knows that I'm keeping the amount of time from him. He won't leave me for more than a few hours. I think he's worried that I'm going to just up and disappear one day._

_ I'm scared mom. Right now it's Day 10. I know that my friends will do everything they can to help me prepare, and I know they will stand beside me when I face him, but I still haven't told them how many days I have left or about the extent of the dream. I just can't bring myself to do it. I have a calendar hidden in my desk. I mark away every day that passes. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I just don't want to waste any time, and having it makes me feel somewhat in control of the inevitable. I wish you were here mom. You would know if I should tell them or not. _

_ Well I better get some sleep. Early morning with Erza tomorrow. _

_Love you Always _

_Sincerely _

_ Your Daughter_

_ Lucy Heartfillia._

* * *

_Dear Mom, _

_ It's Day 15 mom, and training has been going really good. I've learnt a lot. I am a beginning to master the whip, and I can almost summon two spirits at one time. Erza has been training me on a few other weapons, but the whip will still be my favorite. Guess what? Today I faced off with Natsu in the afternoon and there was such an embarrassing moment with that Idiot Dragon Slayer that you should probably know about. Here is how it went. _

_ Natsu volunteered to be the first one that I would go against after a good week and a bit of training. I had been working hard with my spirits, and I had progressed a lot in combat, so Erza thought it was time for a battle. And it had to be Natsu. Obviously he was way to eager to fight. My strategy throughout the battle was to keep myself at a distance. Erza said this was a good plan for anyone who didn't' excel at close combat, since they would only injure themselves further, and since I still suck at close combat this was my plan for my battle with Natsu. Dense Natsu finally picked up on this strategy near the end of the battle._

_ I had been holding my own for a while, but Natsu took the opening between gates to launch at me. He propelled himself towards me and I had no choice but to attempt my close hand combat. Now I'm not that bad, but I'm not great either. I ducked, I blocked, and I swerved but I never realized how fast and powerful he actually was. On one of my punch's Natsu grabbed it and twirled me away from him. Let me tell you mom I was not expecting the next thing to happen. As I spun away I tripped over his leg, which he told me was an accident, I grabbed him and we both fell together. _

_ Mom my face has never gone so red before. He was pretty much laying on top of me with his goofy grin and dark eyes looking down at me. I can't even tell myself I was completely angry with him, I was trust me, but another half of me was like, ah this isn't so bad. What is Mira doing to me!_

_I'm going to go and cry in shame._

_ Love you Always _

_Sincerely _

_ Your Daughter _

_ Lucy Heartfillia._

* * *

_ Dear Mom,_

_ Today is day 24, and my training has been going so well. I have gone up against Gray, and Erza. There battles were a bit more instructive than the one with Natsu. They would stop and correct me if they saw something to improve on, which helped a lot. _

_ I have been progressing a lot lately. Close combat still isn't my strong suit, but Erza has been teaching me a type of self-defense that puts the opponents strength against themselves, and leaves me to use less energy. It's really helpful since combat isn't something I'm strong at. _

_ I have been progressing a lot lately that I think I may actually be ready for the one in the cloak. I know, whoever he is, specializes at hand to hand combat, so if I can at least counter his attacks and use his strength against him, he will be become tired before I do, and then i will have the advantage. That's also why I've actually been extending my runs in the morning. I want to be able to keep up. I need to be in my strongest condition when I fight him. _

_ We went on two missions in the past few days. The first one was with the whole gang. We had to round up a few dark wizards but it actually went according to plan. Which went surprisingly well. However most of the town had been destroyed taking a lot out of the reward money, but when doesn't this happen on our missions. I also went on a smaller mission with just Natsu and Happy. Honestly I had been missing these kinds of missions. We had to help and find a little girl who had been taken by some bandits. _

_ Turns out mom that the girl used to be a celestial mage. That was why she had been taken in the first place. But after the infinity clock she lost her magic. It was such a sad story, and I told her who I was. She was so happy that there were still Stellar Mages out there. I told her to visit me whenever she felt like it, and I told her I would come out and visit her again soon. There are others out there mom. I can't help but hope that some still have their magic. I'll keep looking I still have hope that I'm not the only one out there to keep this magic going. _

_ Love you Always _

_Sincerely _

_ Your Daughter _

_ Lucy Heartfillia._

* * *

_Dear Mom,_

_ Mom you would be so proud of me today. It's day 27 and as you now I have been working tirelessly with my magical energy and training. I have trained every day with each spirit. Focusing on one each day, or sometimes on two each day. But today I successfully summoned 3 spirits at once. Mom I'm so proud that I have come so far in only 27 days. I could only summon one spirit at the start and now I can do three. I'm just so happy. _

_ Actually the guild was so proud of me they threw a celebration. I swear they will find anything to celebrate for. Whether it be a new personal best, someone completing their first solo mission, or even because they got a new order of booze in. Really mom, there isn't anything they don't celebrate in that guild. _

_ The celebration was really nice. We danced, we laughed, and there obviously was a fight. It was awesome. Cana drank most of the alcohol, which didn't surprise me. Makarov had tired to keep up with her but had ended up asleep on the counter. Erza even drank, which surprised me, and she started punishing people as usual. Natsu and Gray, being rivals, participated in an intense drinking competition and then an all out stumbling and quite pathetic looking brawl. Mira and Lissanna made me dance my heart out. Even Levy joined us dancing, which made me very happy. It was hilarious to find little Wendy a little drunk, and a surprised and equally drunk Romeo supporting her up. I will give her a talking to when I see her tomorrow at the guild. _

_ At the end of the night Natsu could barely stand. He was stumbling everywhere and I decided to help him home. Don't scold me to much mom, he could barely stand up, and he was very intoxicated, and I couldn't just let him wander outside and sleep in a ditch. However now thinking back on it, maybe I should have. Anyways we started walking towards his house me supporting his stumbling body, when he abruptly stopped, looked down at me with a goofy and mischievous smile and... took off running back towards town. He can be such a child sometimes. _

_ I took off running after him. Let me tell you mom, he can run quite fast under the influence. I did catch up to him a few times, when his coordination failed him and he would face plant into the ground. I swear mom it was like playing a huge came of cat and mouse. He ran around hiding in the worst places (his idea of a good hiding spot was behind a lamp post, the idiot). He finally made it to his goal and I watched as he sloppily, and quite ungracefully climbed through my bedroom window. I let myself in and went up to kick the Dragon Slayer out of my room and send him back home._

_ What I found in my bedroom was not what I was suspecting. Natsu was already curled up in my bed and was sleeping so peacefully. Being the caring person I am I walked up to the bed with the intention of kicking him out, but I couldn't. I decided that I would let it slide just for tonight. I sat down beside him and sighed in defeat and I did the one thing that I had wanted to do since I woke up from my nightmare. I brushed my hand through his pink hair mom. I couldn't help it. His hair is just so soft! The thing I wasn't suspecting was for him to wake up. He hummed his approval and actually nuzzled my hand. MOM! He NUZZLED MY HAND! Like a cat! Curse Natsu and his absurd cuteness. I swear mom he will be the death of me one day. _

_ Love you Always_

_Sincerely _

_ Your Daughter _

_ Lucy Heartfillia_

* * *

_Dear Mom,_

_ Today was not a good day for me mom. One it's day 33 on the calendar. Yes I only have a week left, and today did not help me forget about that 40th day. Today Levy came and found me. It had been maybe a week ago that I had told Levy if she had ever seen or heard of a magic circle that changed colour's. She had told me no, but if she found anything she would let me know right away. Well today was that day, and this is what she told me from the dusty book in front of her. _

_ Only one kind of magic circle has the ability to take on a different colour that it's original one. Warning: This form of magic is currently band, and hasn't been seen since the dark years. This form of magic is called Memory Access. The magic circle usually appears to be a darker colour, maybe dark purple, or blue. It takes on a different colouring when accessing the memories of a person. Whatever the colour of said person's magic will bleed into the dark magic circle of the caster. Therefore changing the colour of the original magic circle. _

_ This was exactly what I had seen mom. A dark blue magic circle with golden flecks beginning to form on it. But that's not all Levy found. After she found this little bit of information she went and dug up more for me on the magic known as Memory Access. Here is the bad news mom. _

_ Memory Access Magic is a forbidden and lost form of magic. This magic has the ability to access, tamper, add, or erase any memories of the subject it is casted on. There are no symptoms of access unless at a close proximity. From a distance the caster can only access a little information at a time, and it takes a while for a connection to be formed so the caster can access an actual feed. At a distance the caster cannot tamper, or erase any of the memories. In close proximity this magic produces a serious aftereffect. Immense pain, confusion, sickness, or slumber can occur. If immense pain is issued it is the caster forcing images, and possibly using memories to their advantage, sickness can also be a side effect. If memories have been tapered with the symptom is usually confusion and sickness. Slumber can occur in two situations. In the first scenario the castor is erasing memories, or has erased memories. In the second a caster can put their subject into an magically induced slumber in order to tamper, play, or access, the memories on a dream plain. This has been known to drive subjects into madness, or in worst cases death. _

_ So mom this is what I'm up against. A man who can play with my mind, and erase whatever he wishes to. I will have to remember not to get to close to this man, but i don't no the extent of his magical energy he could already be quite powerful. It's terrifying. No wonder it was band from ever being used. The destruction they could do, the things they could learn, and the manipulation they could do to the world. Mom this person is even more dangerous than I thought. _

_ I'm terrified. _

_ I miss you mom. I really wish you could be here right now. I need you to tell me it will all be okay, that I can beat this guy. That he won't harm my family. I really just want you to hold me in your arms like you did when I was young. I need my mom._

_ Love you always. _

_Sincerely _

_ Your Daughter _

_ Lucy Heartfillia. _

* * *

_Dear Mom,_

_ Its day 38, mom. Let's just say that I am even more terrified than before, but don't worry I'm staying strong. I have been trying to keep up with my training but I think Erza, Natsu, and Gray can tell that something is bothering me. Ever since Levy gave me that information, my mind has just been so unfocused. Maybe then can tell that the day is coming up, but since I still haven't told them they can't know for sure. _

_ I asked Erza today to give me the next two days off. They think it's just because I need a break, but the real reason is, is because I don't want these last two days to be focused on my end goal. I want to take a step back and enjoy the life I had before this all went downhill. It's not much. But all I want to do is sit at the bar with my milkshake watching the guild's rowdiness. I just want to hang out normally with my friends one last time, since I don't know what's going to happen on the 40th day. _

_ Also I got the day off because tomorrow is my birthday mom. Ironic right. The day before it all happens I get to spend my last day celebrating with my friends and family. I'll be turning 18, mom. Another year older. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day. I actually don't know if they no it's my birthday, I don't remember telling them. Either way I don't want it to be a huge thing. It's just a birthday right. All I really want for this birthday is one last happy day with those closest to me. _

_ I promise to write to you before it happens. I love you mom. Say hi to dad for me, and don't worry about me. I'm stronger than most think, and I know that you have always believed in me. I know your watching, but if something does happen. Watch out for my friends okay. Just do that for me. If anything happens watch over them. _

_ Love you always. _

_Sincerely _

_ Your Daughter _

_ Lucy Heartfillia._

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**Here we go day 39 and 40 coming up next...**

**Sorry everyone but i'm not going to update until next week. It's father's day weekend here in British Columbia and i'm going fishing. Have a great weekend everyone :) Don't worry i already have the next four chapters almost complete so you will be getting tons of updates next week :)**


	9. Chapter 9 - Her Confidant

**Hello Fairies! Welcome to the beginning of day 39. I know i said i wouldn't get this up till monday but i couldn't help it i got back early from camping and had to post! **

**Please Read and Review because i would love to here your comments and criticism :) **

**Enjoy!**

**I do not own Fairy Tail or the cover image :)**

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Lucy woke just before dawn. A habit she had trained into her body for the past 38 days. Lifting her arms high above her head she moved from side to side slowly working the kinks from her back. She was still a little sore from yesterday's training session but she had the day off today. Today… Day 39 in her countdown to tomorrow~ NO! she yelled at her mind. _No depressing thoughts of tomorrow your stronger than that. Today is your day of normality and ironically your birthday_, she screamed inside her head. Today would be different. Today would be fun, happy, and normal. Swinging herself out of bed she bumped into a familiar object. Turning slowly she already knew who she would find as she pulled back the covers. There sound asleep was Natsu. She sighed. He really had taken a habit to sleeping in her bed and she had to kick him out almost every morning since he snuck in while she was asleep. Honestly she had almost gotten used to it in the past few weeks and didn't even kick him out anymore. And only in her mind would she accept that she found comfort in him being there. She would never share those thoughts to anyone especially Mira. She replaced the warm sheets and got out of bed.

She got up and had a warm shower, before getting ready and setting off through the town deciding to let Natsu sleep in this morning. She wanted some peace and quite and some time to herself. She needed a moment to compose herself for the day. She needed to have a moment of peace from the chaos that was sure to ensue today. She loved her guild, and her best friend, but this morning she wanted to spend a little in the crisp morning air of the dawn.

Lucy had gotten up early out of habit and knew that the guild would be deserted at this time of the morning. So she decided to walk around Magnolia. She hadn't done this in so long, and who knew what tomorrow had in store for her.

She walked along the stonewall that bordered the canal. Loving the familiarity of every placed foot. Two old men called out to her in the early morning and she waved to them with a warm smile. She walked through the empty market, and then into the park with the Sakura tree. She placed a warm hand on the trunk remembering the time she saw it floating down the river. She walked past and grabbed a muffin from her favorite café and then made her way up the hill that rose beside Magnolia. Here she watched as the sun began its warming arc of the day, waking everyone from their slumber and chasing away the shadows that lurked in its corners. Letting out a content sigh Lucy began her walk to the guild.

She didn't actually have anything planned for today. She waked towards her guild smiling and waving at familiar faces. She noticed a large crowds setting up something in the town square. Maybe there was a festival going on? Continuing on her way she briefly began to reflect on her training. She had come a long way in 39 days. She could summon 3 spirits if needed but it took a lot of her magical energy still, but she could easily summon 2. She still wasn't on par with Natsu, Gray and Erza but she also had a different fighting style since she was a holder mage. Lucy had also gained courage in her ability to protect her nakama. That had been her goal for so long. She didn't want to be the damsel in distress, she wanted to be able to protect the one's she loves, and she now felt like the warrior that her heart had wanted to be. A protector against the shadow that loomed over her.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts she noticed she now stood in front of the guild. It was still to early for many people to be there but she mentally prepared herself for the day. _You can protect them Lucy now no more sad thoughts about tomorrow, enjoy today, it's your birthday_, she chanted as she put a hand on the rough wood and heaved it open. She noticed that only the early risers were there. Mira stood behind the bar cleaning the already spotless classes. Lissanna was sweeping between some tables and upturning some chairs. Wendy sat at the bar eating breakfast, while Carla sat on the counter drinking tea. Erza was there polishing one of her swords while munching on an apple. Freed sat in a corner looking over a very ancient book. Levy was there already with her nose deep in a romantic novel. While Lily sat on one of her book piles eating a kiwi making Lucy think that Gajeel wouldn't be to far away. That was it for the early risers, but some more would soon trickle in as the sun moved through the sky.

"Good Morning Lucy," she heard Mira call and Lucy waved.

"Morning everyone," Lucy said as she made her way to the bar.

"What will it be this morning?" Mira asked in her singsong voice.

"Just yogurt and some berries if you have it," Lucy replied while she sat down beside Wendy.

"Sure thing Lucy," Mira said with a smile before disappearing into the back.

"You didn't sleep in Lucy. I'm surprised since it's your day off," she heard Erza say as the red head joined on the other side of Lucy.

"Well its kind of habit to get up this early now. Good habits are hard to break," Lucy said with a smile, earning a small one from the Re-equip Mage beside her.

"Here you go Lucy," Mira said returning with a big bowl of yogurt with blackberries, and raspberries mixed in.

"Thanks Mira," she said before digging in.

The small talk began with the usual morning crew. They talked about the guild, they talked about Lucy's training, and then Mira began her matchmaking and teasing. She began with Wendy and Romeo and their drunken episode 12 days ago. Mira was still hung up on the fact that they had said the cutest things and blushed a dozen times. Then she moved onto Erza and her mysterious love interest Jellal. Where was he? Had she heard from him yet? Was she going to see him? Did she yearn for him to come and sweep her off her feet? The questions and teasing only got worse the more it dragged on. Lucy in an attempt to save her friend decided to change the subject only to have Mira divert her attention to her.

"So how are you and Natsu doing?" Mira said her eyebrows moving in a very unsuspicious fashion.

"I don't know what your talking about Mira," Lucy decided confusion and denial was the best way to go with Mira's antics but it didn't fool the silver haired mage.

"Oh come on Lucy. You guys have been almost inseparable since you came back from that mission in Oaktown. He is always there to watch you train, even if he isn't participating~" Mira said but was mildly interrupted by Lucy.

"~He's being supportive," She stated but it didn't sound like she was really defending the situation.

"He pretty much stays at your place every night. Not to mention that adorable moment while you were training when he fell on top of you~" Mira continued.

"~That was an accident," Lucy defended.

"And you two blushed 30 shades of red. Or the party we had and Natsu was all over you while he was drunk~" Mira continued.

"~He was drunk he could barely stand," Lucy said shaking her head.

"Not to mention what he and Gray were saying before he left with you at that party. Quite interesting~" Mira said slyly.

"~What were they saying?" Lucy tried to say but Mira only continued like she hadn't heard.

"He also is always looking for you, and watching you. You know I haven't seen him act so protective over someone before. He's always saving you and sweeping you off your feet. It's so dreamy how much he cares for you. He's always looking out for you Lucy. Although it's not like there is any danger here. Hmmm. This could be a new development in my matchmaking. Maybe I should employ Happy. Maybe Natsu has finally cracked that dense shell of his. Maybe he has finally figured out his deepest feelings. Oh you two will have the cutest babies. Oh and…." Mira continued with a dreamy look as her fantasies of matchmaking got away from her.

"She's gone isn't she?" Lucy asked as she looked at Mira.

"Yes she has gone to far again," Erza stated with a sigh.

"If you ask me, she takes this matchmaking thing far to seriously," Carla stated while she took another sip of her tea as they watched Mira faint from her fantasies of little Natsu and Lucy babies running around the guild.

"Carla shouldn't you be going?" Wendy asked as she looked at the clock.

"Yes child. We are waiting for that Tom Cat to get here, he always tends to take his sweet time," Carla said with a shake of her head.

"Where are you going Carla?" Lucy asked.

"Myself and the other exceeds are all going to visit the exceeds from Edolas for a week. It's been a long time since we last saw them and we can't delay the trip any longer," Carla said with a sigh.

"Actually before I leave. Lucy may I speak with you for a moment in private," Carla said in her usual serious voice. A little taken aback by the comment Lucy managed a slight nod before following Carla to a table at the far end of the guild.

Lucy sat down and Carla stood on the table her paws crossed and her eyebrows knitted together. Lucy had a feeling she knew the topic Carla was going to ask about. She knew that Carla had foresight, and she had probably seen something in Lucy's future.

"Lucy I know the situation your in. Since you told us in Oak Town and what I have gathered since then. I can guess you know why I am talking to you now," Carla began.

"Yea I had a feeling you would talk to me," Lucy said with a sigh.

"I didn't have a clear vision Lucy. And I fear for you, Wendy, and this guild. I saw you in great pain Lucy as the stars went black and a shadow descended on the world but that can be taken into many different accounts depending on their opinion. Some things were more constant and clear. I know that your encounter with the man will be soon. I need to know Lucy. When are you meeting with this man?" she asked as her cat eyes pierced into Lucy's. Lucy knew why she asked this question. She was about to leave and she didn't want Wendy here when it happened. There was nothing Lucy could do about the date.

"Tomorrow," Lucy sighed and she let her head rest in her hands.

"I plan on leading him far away from here so he doesn't harm the guild if that's what your worried about," Lucy said to the table as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Lucy," Carla said in such a soft tone as she placed her small paw on Lucy's arm.

"I will promise you this Carla," Lucy said lifting her head up. Her gaze determined and unwavering.

"If he does come for my friends, if he has any plan on harming them in any way, I will do everything in my power to save them. You have my word as a Celestial Mage that I will protect them at all costs," Lucy said never breaking eye contact with the cat.

"I know you will, but why haven't you told the others in the guild," Carla said her curiosity beginning to spike.

"You know them. They would barrel in there and put themselves in harms way for me, to protect me, and save me. I am the only thing he is interested in, he needs me for his plan. I'm the only one who can stop him, because I know what he is, I know the magic he uses. I can't let my friends near him again; it's too big of a risk," Lucy said as tears slowly begin to land on the wooden table.

"That's a lot of responsibility for one girl," Carla said marveling at the sacrifice and bravery of the one girl in front of her.

"I know, and I wish I could tell you more, but he's always watching, he could be listening now for all I know," she said her voice becoming a whisper at those words.

"Lucy you can't just face him alone," Carla said thinking on her vision again.

"You have to let me. If anyone joins me he'll use them against me, he could harm them or even~" Lucy began but was cut off when the doors of the guild burst open and a pink haired Dragon Slayer strutted in.

"Luce! You'll never guess what's in town. You have to come with me. It's your day off right. Come on it will be so much fun!" Natsu exclaimed while hurrying over to where she sat.

Lucy quickly wiped the tears away hiding the evidence of her distraught state. Lucy felt Carla's small paw land on her arm again and she looked down at the white exceed.

"Be Careful," Carla stated before spreading her wings and joining Wendy again. Lucy watched as Carla attempted to convince Wendy to come with her to Edolas but Wendy only shook her head.

"Come on Luce. It's going to be so much fun," Natsu said grabbing her hand and practically dragging her out of the guild.

"Natsu what's going to be so much fun? And where are we going?" Lucy demanded as she followed behind the excited Dragon Slayer.

"There's a fair in town. They've set up rides, food stalls and everything. They just arrived this morning and they've been setting up. It's going to be so much fun!" he said gripping her hand tighter.

Lucy only smiled. Of course a fair would be in town. How ironic. She gripped Natsu's hand tighter. She would have fun today. Carla's warning had brought all her worries back up to the front, but at least one person knew about tomorrow. Lucy had to live in the moment. Not in the "what if's" of tomorrow. But the right here, right now. With Natsu gripping her hand like she would disappear, and the fair waiting for them in town, with all it's laughs and memories waiting to be formed. She could have fun. She would have fun, because when the sun rose tomorrow she would take her foot out of her happy life and step into the cold front of reality.


	10. Chapter 10 - Day 39

**Hi Fairies! Welcome to Day 39. It's the calm before the storm. Hope you enjoy my shipping chapter :) **

**Please Review. I feel like i keep saying this but I love hearing the comments and the criticism i get from people who read my story.**

**I do not own Fairy Tail **

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The festival was everything she had thought it would be. Families ran from one booth to another. Shouting and laughing could be heard from the carnival rides. The children giggled and clutched their prizes as they ran around the games and rides in an overjoyed frenzy. Parents and groups of friends sat on benches or lay out in the park enjoying the warm sun of the day. Decorations transformed the square and park into a wonderland of happy memories waiting to be claimed by the many laughing faces enjoying the festival.

The whole guild ended up coming down to enjoy the festival. They were scattered throughout the festivities or laying in a large group under the Sakura tree. Beer was passed around and memories, and laughing was shared with everyone. It was a picture perfect moment. Lucy currently sat under the Sakura Tree with Levy talking about the most recent book purchases they had bought at one of the booths. As they talked Lucy stole glances at her nakama, watching as Cana guzzled another beer, Bisca and Alzack were chasing around Asuka, Mira, Lissanna were busy chatting with Makarov, she spotted Elfman and Evergreen sitting beside each other with drinks in their hands, Jet and Droy were always close by with a hidden Gajeel not to far away, and the current fight between Natsu and Gray as they rolled around in the grass with Juvia cheering from the side lines.

"Oh Levy I almost forgot," Lucy said turning to her bag but she came back empty handed.

"Oh course I forgot it on my desk," Lucy said sighing and leaning back against the tree.

"What did you forget Lu-chan?" Levy asked rolling over onto her side to look at her best friend. A small smile crept up Lucy's lips as she looked down at her friend.

"I've finished my book," she said with a smile and watched as Levy's mouth dropped open before she leapt at Lucy squealing like a mad woman.

"I thought you might be excited. After the festival stop by and I'll give it to you," Lucy said as she hugged the happy blue haired mage.

"I can't wait to read it Lu-Chan," she exclaimed rolling back onto her blanket with a massive smile plastered onto her face.

Lucy smiled down at her and squeaked in surprise when someone fell against the tree beside her. The person had been flipped and slid down the side of the Sakura Tree so his head rested on the ground and his back lay against the tree. She looked down with a smile to see Natsu smiling up at her.

"Hey," she said still smiling.

"Hey," he said righting himself and sitting cross-legged beside her rubbing the back of his head.

"How's the fight going?" she asked as she motioned him to come closer so she could inspect the back of his head.

"I took the Striper down. He's on the other side of the park pinned down by Juiva," Natsu said with a smirk, then winced as Lucy probed the back of his head.

"Ah Luce that hurts," he whined and Lucy only smiled leaning back against the tree. She looked over at Levy who was giving them a mischievous smile.

"You're fine Natsu," she said sighing and relaxing again, trying to ignore the feeling of Levy's eyes boring into her.

"Come on Luce let's go play some games," Natsu said standing up beside her.

"What?" Lucy questioned looking up at the pink haired Dragon Slayer. He beamed down at her with his toothy grin and stretched out a hand to her.

"Yea you haven't even looked around. You just been sitting here watching everyone. Live a little Luce," he said and her grin widened as she took Natsu's hand and he pulled her up. He was right she shouldn't be sitting her she should be doing things, making memories with her friends. She could hear Levy let out an "awh" noise and Lucy sent said mage a deathly stare.

Natsu dragged her over to one of the many carnival games that dotted the square. They had round little red balls all lined up ready to be tossed at the targets in the middle. It was easy, hit the target and win a prize. Natsu picked up the ball and the attendant yelled go but before Natsu could throw, the little targets began to move at a very fast pace. It was cheap but all carnival games are. Natsu ended up winning but ended up burning a few targets in the process.

Next Lucy competed against Natsu in a shooting game where they had to squirt water into a target. The first one to get the water to float the boat at the top won. Natsu being the competitive person he was won with a triumphant yelp. Lucy giggled and went to look at the next booth as he chose his prize. He came back with his hands behind his back and a wide grin plastered onto his goofy face.

"What is it Natsu?" Lucy asked at his weird behavior.

"Look!" he said bringing out a little stuffed animal in front of him. Lucy smiled at the figure. It was a small red-scaled dragon that reminded Lucy of the stories that Natsu would tell her of Igneel.

"Awh it's a little dragon," Lucy said reaching out to touch the soft stuffed dragon.

"Yea I saw it and it reminded me of Igneel," he said grinning down at the dragon.

"Here," he said handing it over to Lucy who took it with a little confusion.

"But it's yours Natsu you won it," Lucy protested.

"Nah I want you to have it," he said smiling making Lucy smile and hold the dragon closer to her.

"Thanks Natsu. Come on," Lucy said grabbing his hand and pulling him along to the next booth with a smile never leaving her face.

They moved from booth to booth finding the same frustrating games as the one before. Soon Gray, and Erza joined and the competition began. Gray, Erza and Natsu got way to into it. Breaking the targets when they hit them, or continuously dunking the poor person into the icy water. Lucy sat off to the side with an icy lemonade in one hand and her other clutching the little red dragon watching as her three best friends fought over who would win the next carnival game.

"Oi Ice Princess what did you say?" Natsu yelled slamming his head against Gray's forehead.

"I said Flame Brain. That there was no way you were going to win!" Gray yelled back pushing against Natsu's head.

"Now boys. Do you really think you could beat me?" Erza said in a sly calm voice as she separated the two with her armor-clad hands.

"You two are both going down," Gray said picking up the little fishing rod getting ready to catch the little ducks that would float by.

"In your dreams! I'm all fired up!" Natsu said as he clutched his fishing rod and bent over in concentration.

"It shall be a pleasure to crush you both," Erza said joining them at the edge of the pool.

Lucy laughed at the scene. They were all so competitive it bordered on the line of ridiculous. It was a carnival game where you fished out little ducks and looked for the one with a star on the bottom. There were over 200 little ducks in that pond and they were all so determined to find it even if the odds were against them.

"My children are always competitive aren't they," Lucy heard a fatherly voice sound beside her. Smiling she turned to see Makarov sitting down beside her with a large mug of beer in one hand.

"They really are, but it's quite funny seeing them compete over that game," Lucy said giggling as she watched Natsu fish out a duck with a huge smile on his face.

"Yes it is quite a scene isn't it. They'll never change," he said smiling fondly at the group.

"Lucy I wanted to tell you something," he said taking a long deep swig from his beer.

"What it is Master?" Lucy asked turning her attention to her second father.

"It feels like I haven't talked to you in a very long time, and I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you Lucy. You've come a long way since you've first stepped through those doors. Not only in your training in these past couple of weeks, but also with your relationships in Fairy Tail. I know you have some dark things waiting for you in the future, and i want you to know that we all support you. I wanted you to know how proud I am to call you one of my children," Master Makarov said to the now teary eyed Lucy. Lucy launched herself at Makarov not caring about decency or manners. She hugged the small master as tears fell down her face and he hugged her back with a fond smile.

"Thank you Master. That means a lot coming from you," she said giving him a final squeeze before sitting back in her chair. Makarov smiled at her taking another swig of his beer.

He had wanted to say this to her for some time now. Never having the time to tell her how much he appreciated her being here. He saw Lucy as one of his children, and knowing how much she has lost in the past he wanted her to know how much she belonged with everyone in Fairy Tail. They were family. Looking back at the rest of Team Natsu he groaned as he watched Natsu slightly burn one of the ducks as he started to become frustrated.

"I can already tell this festival is going to cost me," he said taking a deep swig of his beer almost finishing it. Lucy's only reply was a light laugh.

"Make sure they don't get carried away. I'm going to go and get a refill, I think I'm going to need it," he said hopping off of the chair and walking off towards the bar.

"Bye Master," Lucy called after him and he turned and waved before disappearing into the crowd.

Lucy leaned back in her chair wiping away the last of her tears just in time to see a sulking Natsu and Gray and a triumphant Erza coming towards her. Lucy put on a smile hoping that Natsu couldn't smell the tears that had just fallen, but he looked too dejected to pick up on a small thing like that.

"I see you won Erza," Lucy said to the red haired mage that sat down beside her.

"They never learn," Erza said with a small smile and Lucy just laughed as Natsu sat down on her other side and Gray across from her.

"Here ill treat you guys. Boy's stay," Lucy commanded grabbing Erza's arm and dragging her away to several food booths.

Lucy and Erza stopped at a kabob place where they sold flaming food which was perfect for Natsu, then a snow cone booth were they got something for Gray, then they made there way over to the Cake shop and Lucy treated Erza to a slice of Strawberry cake. On their way back to the boys Erza slowed beside a window as something caught her eye. Lucy stopped and joined Erza by the window. A beautiful navy blue dress hung in the window. It had red accents that decorated the bottom hem in swirls. It was a stunning and elegant dress that Lucy knew Erza would look absolutely beautiful in.

"You should go and try it on Erza," Lucy said nudging the girl since her arms were currently full with burning and frozen food.

"I don't know…" Erza said unsure of herself. Lucy only ever saw Erza unsure when she was thinking of a certain blue haired mage and she smiled to herself in a cunning fashion.

"Come on Erza it would look beautiful on you," Lucy said promoting the woman to at least try it on.

"hmmm.." Erza hummed contemplating it.

"Go on. I know a certain someone would love to see you in that," Lucy said with a sly smile.

"Really?" Erza said her eyes lighting up before she realized what she had said. "I mean. Who?" she said trying to cover it up but her slight blush only betrayed her.

"Go on and try it. Your cake will be waiting for you," Lucy said knowing she had already won the discussion.

"Well okay. I'll only be a few minutes," Erza said before running into the little store.

Lucy laughed at Erza's antics and weakness for cute clothes and returned back to the tables with the boys. They were arguing but shut up when they saw what Lucy was carrying. Their eyes widened and their mouths dropped open as Lucy slowly passed out the food, which Natsu devoured immediately. Lucy giggled to herself and sat down in between Gray and Natsu.

"Thanks Lucy," Gray said between licks.

"~ea! T~anks ~uce," Natsu said his mouth half full as he gobbled the fire and meat.

"Natsu that's disgusting," Lucy commented as food flew everywhere.

"But it's sooo good," he said his eyes watering with how delicious it was.

"Lucy you didn't get anything?" Gray questioned and Lucy shrugged not really wanting anything since she just had lemonade. Gray frowned and looked around spotting an ice cream cart that was rolling by.

"Here I'll treat you," Gray said standing up and moving towards the cart as Lucy protested yelling at him that she was fine.

"You can't just treat all of us and get nothing for yourself," he said looking back at her with a smirk his hands casually in his pockets.

Lucy sighing in defeat stood from her chair and joined Gray at the ice-cream cart looking at all the different kinds. One caught her eye and she reached to get some jewels to pay but Gray stuck his arm out preventing her from grabbing her money.

"I'll get it. Now which one do you want?" he said reaching for his own money Lucy sighed and pointed at the strawberry frozen yogurt. Gray chuckled and paid giving Lucy her frozen yogurt.

"Thanks Gray," Lucy said smiling and tasting the yogurt. "It's delicious," she exclaimed looking up at him with a big smile which only made him chuckle again.

They joined the others and Erza was back from her little shopping spree but she wasn't carrying a bag.

"You didn't get it?" Lucy asked a little disappointed as she sat down.

"No I did. I put it in my re-equip inventory. You never know when you will have to wear something like that," she said smiling down at her cheesecake that was already half finished.

Lucy sat there licking her frozen yogurt laughing and chatting with her three closest friends. She loved moments like this when they could just sit and talk and not have to worry about being attacked at any moment. Sure they had moments like this while on missions, but they were always tired, or interrupted. They talked about everything and nothing at all in these little moments, and it meant the world to Lucy. She could feel her heart lift with each ridiculous topic they went through. She laughed along with them when they began to reminisce about missions and hilarious memories they all shared. Lucy never wanted it to end.

Lucy was deep in conversation when she felt a small tug on her sleeve. She turned to find Wendy looking up at her with her big eyes. Lucy noticed that she was fidgeting and she turned completely to the small girl putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Wendy what's up?" Lucy asked.

"Lucy I - I was wondering if – if you wanted to come on a ride with me?" Wendy asked and looked up hopefully.

"What about Romeo. I thought the two of you were going to ride every ride?" Lucy asked watching as the blue haired mage turned a bright shade of pink.

"W-we did. I-I wanted to go on o-one with you," Wendy said looking away and still blushing. Lucy laughed at the small girl. She was just too cute.

"Okay Wendy what ride do you want to go on?" Lucy asked.

"Teacups?" Wendy asked looking over at the square where the disk of teacups spun madly.

"Sounds great," Lucy said smiling hiding the nerves that surfaced. If it was just her and Wendy it wouldn't be that bad.

"You guys are going on the teacups?" Erza asked coming around to stand beside Wendy and she nodded in agreement.

"Did someone say teacups?" Gray said smirking at the group. Lucy could already tell where this was going and she knew she would regret what was going to happen.

"Do you guys want to join?" Wendy asked looking around at the team. Lucy mentally face palmed. This was not going to turn out well.

"Lets do it!" Natsu said standing beside Lucy and slammed his fist into his hand.

"Natsu? Were going on that," Lucy said pointing to the high spinning teacups. She watched as his turned green and slumped onto her shoulder. Sighing she followed the group towards the teacups and then slowly dropped Natsu onto a nearby bench. Moving a few pink strands away from his face Lucy looked at him and smiled.

"Try not to think of it. We will be back in a minute," Lucy said and he managed a weak smile.

"Here hold onto this," she said handing over the small dragon that she hadn't let go of once all day.

He took it tenderly and held it close to his face. She hoped he wouldn't puke on it and she turned and went to catch up with the rest of the group in the line up. Lucy, Gray, Erza and Wendy climbed into a small little teacup, all crowded around the one disk they had to turn. Lucy could see the competitive gleam in Erza and Gray's eyes, as they got ready to spin. Lucy sat beside Wendy smiling nervously at her as the teacups started to move. Erza and Gray began to turn the disk in a frenzied manner picking up speed very quickly. Lucy and Wendy tried to help but they were going so fast their bodies seemed to be plastered to the side of the ride. They never slowed down they only gained more speed everything turning into a colourful blur as they sped by. Lucy felt Wendy clutch her arm as she heard a small scream escape the blue haired mage's mouth. Lucy laughed and squeezed back. Her laugh slowly turning into her own scream as they flew around in a blurred teacup.

Lucy stumbled off of the teacups her world still spinning. Wendy clung to her arm not being able to walk either. She saw a pink haired blob ahead of her and made her way towards it dragging the dizzy Wendy with her. Erza and Gray followed not seeming fazed by what had happened. Lucy slumped against the bench beside Natsu holding onto his arm to steady herself. She still couldn't see straight. Her whole world tilting and spinning together. Gray and Erza didn't stay long. Gray bolted due to a running Juvia who wanted him to go to the kissing booth with her, and Erza said she had to speak to Master and would come and check on them later.

"Luce you look terrible," Natsu said with a slight laugh.

"Never let me go on the teacups with those two again," Lucy said closing her eyes hopping it would help, which it didn't.

"Wendy what happened?" Lucy heard Romeo call.

"I went on the teacups with Lucy, Erza and Gray," she said gripping onto Lucy in an attempt to not fall over.

"Oh," is all he said completely understanding what they went though and sitting down on the other side of Wendy.

The four of them were quite the sight. Two unbelievably dizzy girls, one pink haired man who kept going green whenever he glanced over at the teacups. Then the little brown haired boy who kept blushing whenever Wendy would hold onto his arm for support. Soon the dizzy spell wore off and the four of them just sat there talking.

"What ride is your favourite Lucy?" Wendy asked Lucy who was leaning against the back of the bench and looking at the changing sky.

"The Ferris Wheel… I've only ever been on one once. My father and mom took me to a carnival when I was little. My mom and I went up in it," Lucy said smiling up at the pink and orange sky.

"There's one here," Romeo said peaking around Wendy.

"Really?" Lucy said tilting her head to look at Romeo.

"Yea it's in the middle of the park. It's the only place big enough to fit it," Wendy piped up smiling eagerly.

"Hmmm…. No it's getting late," Lucy said looking back up at the sky with a frown.

"Oh come on Luce. If we go now we can make it," Natsu said nudging her shoulder.

"Natsu it moves. You'll get sick," Lucy said looking over at him and he frowned at the ground and turned a little green at the thought.

"Here Natsu," Wendy exclaimed reaching over and closing her eyes.

"Troia!" she said and a blue light appeared around her hand. Natsu blinked a few times wondering what she did.

"Wait did you~" Natsu said pointing a figure at Wendy who just nodded.

"Come on Luce. We have a Ferris wheel to ride!" he yelled grabbing her hand and running towards the park. Wendy and Romeo close behind.

They ran into the little clearing with the large Ferris wheel spinning high above them. Lucy looked at it with wide eyes. Memories of the last time she rode a Ferris wheel floating through her mind. It was one of her fondest memories of her and her mother. Her mother had been sick and she had convinced Lucy's father to take them to a nearby carnival. Layla wasn't well enough to ride most of the rides but she rode the Ferris wheel with Lucy at the end of the day. It was at night and they could see all the lights from the town as they flew high above the city. Lucy felt like she was flying up with the stars with her mother that night.

They waited patiently in line as the day slowly began to dwindle down. It had been a long day for all of them. They had been at the festival for almost the entire day basking in the hot sun. Lucy could see that the crowd had dwindled down considerably only a few people from town still out and about. Lucy could see the Fairy Tail members still hanging around the Sakura Tree but she figured they would move to the guildhall soon to continue the party. It was still early for the party animals of Fairy Tail.

Wendy and Romeo had joined them and Lucy insisted that they go first. Lucy watched in satisfaction as they both blushed deeply but sat beside each other and went up in the Ferris wheel together. Lucy felt like Mirajane at the moment as she played matchmaker. Lucy noted to herself that she would have to tell Mira about this little advancement later. Then the next cart appeared before them and it was Lucy and Natsu's turn to get onto the Ferris wheel.

Lucy beamed at Natsu and grabbed his hand before jumping onto the Ferris wheel. She clambered onto the seat but was pulled back as Natsu stopped still holding her hand. He placed his foot tenderly on the surface and it rocked beneath his foot. Lucy watched as his face regained his smile instead of the sickly green that usually went with any form of motion. She pulled him into the booth and clamped the safety bar down ready to go up in her favourite ride.

Natsu watched as Lucy smiled as they began to move up the Ferris wheel. He was going to have to thank Wendy later for casting her Troia spell on him. He leant back in the metal seat draping his arm across the back of the seat taking in the moment. He had had a wonderful day. Plenty of competition, good food, and some great laughs with his friends. It was a day he would remember for a long time, but that nagging sensation always returned when he had a moment to collect his thoughts. He was worried for Lucy. He cared for her and didn't want anything to happen to her. He knew what was coming; he knew the dangers that lurked in her future. She was his best friend, his partner. He_ knew_ Lucy and he could tell that something wasn't right. Natsu wished she would share with him; they never kept secrets from each other. They were inseparable and he wanted it to stay that way. He was worried that she may disappear on him and be unable to protect her again.

Natsu grinned as he looked out at the horizon letting his worries leave his mind for the moment. The horizon glowed a beautiful orange and red and he tapped Lucy on the shoulder and pointed out at the horizon. He smiled as Lucy gasped and turned towards him pointing out at the beautiful sunset. He chuckled. It had been a long time since he had seen her so carefree and he wanted that smile to stay there forever. He never wanted this day to end. Lucy leant back against his arm smiling at the beautiful sunset then looking up at him.

"Thanks for joining me Natsu," Lucy said offering him a smile as she leant against his arm.

"I'm glad I could actually join you," he said looking down at her. He could see a light blush taint her pale checks and smiled even more feeling his own checks heat up. The both looked out at the magnificent view of Magnolia.

"Luce..." Natsu began but trailed off since he didn't want to ruin the happy moment.

"What is it Natsu," Lucy asked.

"I... Never mind," he said not able to get the words out.

"Come on Natsu. Something's bothering you. Just say it," Lucy said looking up at him seriously.

"I.. I don't want anything to happen to you. That's all. Your important to me Luce, and I want you to know I'll always be there to protect you," he said honestly. He wanted her to know that. He wanted to always be there for her even if she didn't need it.

Lucy looked up at him with her big brown eyes boring into his deep onyx eyes. He had no idea how much those words meant to her especially today. Her heart lifted with those words and she smiled warmly at him, knowing that her cheeks were turning a little pink. "Natsu that means a lot. Your important to me too, and i want you to know that i will always be there to support and protect you as well. And before you object and say you don't need protecting and that your strong enough to handle yourself your wrong, because every single person needs protection sometimes," Lucy said turning away and laying her head on his shoulder. He only looked down at her. She was right he was about to object but he would never admit that she may have a point. He was Natsu the mighty Salamander who didn't fear anything. Except maybe his fear of loosing Lucy...

"Natsu," Lucy said after a little while. "I wish time would freeze so this day would never end," Lucy said in a low voice as she looked out towards the horizon.

"Yea I wish it could too," he said as the Ferris wheel turned and they reached the peak and they could see all of Magnolia. They sat in comfortable silence. Lucy leaning against Natsu her head laying on his shoulder and Natsu's arm draped around her shoulders his head slightly leaning against her blonde hair, both never wanting the Ferris wheel to stop spinning.


	11. Chapter 11 - An Encounter with a Shadow

**Hello Fairies! Thank you for reading my story! For me I feel like this story has taken awhile to actually get going, but no more waiting here is the beginning of the storm...**

**Please Review! **

**I do not own Fairy Tail **

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A light breeze filtered through the dark wood of the trees. A small creek bubbled in the undergrowth of the forest, and the canopy of leaves let in small bits of the mid morning light. A lone figure stood leaning against the rough bark of a tree. Her whip uncoiled and hanging loosely and at the ready in her hand. Today she wore tight black pants with her combat boots. A small blue crop top that hugged her figure and her white belt lay across her hips holding her Fleuve d'etoiles and her keys. She had arm bands on that Erza had given her. They were black with golden patterns on them with hints of metal giving them reinforcement. Lucy stood far in the outskirts of Magnolia hidden away from her friends and family, waiting for him to show himself.

She had gotten up early as usual. She had sat on the edge of her bed looking down at the sleeping pink haired person in her bed. She desperately wanted him to wake up and tell her that today would be okay. That he would be there with her, but she knew that her thoughts could never happen. She had had such a wonderful day at the festival. The Ferris wheel had been one of her favourite memories. The rest of the night had been quite and uneventful. Levy grabbing the book and running off to read it immediately. Lucy had gotten ready for bed to find Natsu falling asleep in her bed like always. They had spent some time just talking, and then they fell asleep facing each other their foreheads touching as they entered into a peaceful and happy sleep. This morning she had walked away from him, away from her happy memories, and had gotten ready and set out for the forest.

She had taken precautions just in case they came looking for her. She had used a different and quite powerful perfume to mask her own scent. She knew it wouldn't last long but it would work until she reached a safe distance. She hadn't told anyone about where she was, and she had a feeling that if she didn't show up at the guild soon they would start looking for her. She hoped that she would be returning that day, with good news, and a weight off her shoulders. But until then she would have to wait and see what would transpire in this forest.

"Loki," she called her face downcast at the ground below her as a golden light appeared at her right and the Lion Spirit appeared beside her.

"Yes my love," he said bowing to her.

"You remember are agreement yes," she said in a dead serious voice.

"Yes I remember," he said with a sad frown.

"And your sure you protected the memory from him," she said finally looking up at him.

"Yes Crux was very thorough with his re-search and we performed it perfectly. He will never be able to access that particular memory," he said looking down at her with a sad smile.

"Good," Lucy said feeling a little of the weight lift off her shoulders.

"Lucy," he said stepping closer to her as put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him waiting for him to continue.

"Whatever happens today, just know that we are all here for you, and we will stand with you no matter what," he said with a confidant smile. Lucy beamed at him and gave him a tight hug.

"I know. Thanks," she said letting go of him and giving him a warm smile. He smiled back before disappearing in a golden light.

She returned back to her tree, her smile slowly fading as she began to focus again. She had been waiting since sunrise, and it was now mid morning. She never moved from the tree, only focusing on her surroundings. She listened to the sounds of the forest, waiting for any kind of disturbance, or any indication of another presence of magic near her. She was so intunned with her surroundings that she sensed him a good minute before he appeared before her. She pushed off the tree; whip in hand and her other hovering over her keys ready to call her spirits to her. She took a calming breath before the cloaked man stepped out from behind a tree.

She lashed out her whip, not waiting to hear him say anything, or even make a move. Lucy's whip coiled around the man's arm and she turned quickly slamming him against a tree. She called out Loki and Aries right away as the man slowly began to stand up against the tree.

"I see you are not wasting any time," he said dodging Loki's fist and the cloud of pink wool that was intended to trap him.

"I will tell you this Star Gazer. I will let you have your fight and don't worry I didn't peak at your strategy I wanted to have a bit of a challenge today. I have let all my subjects fight for their escape, but I will tell you this as well. None of the others have ever succeeded," he said with a smirk as he began his counter attacks.

Lucy let out a low breath. How many others was he talking about? Pushing the thought she focused on her situation again. So he could access her memories whenever he wanted, it did reassure her that he hadn't looked at her thoughts on her battle plans, but he could be lying. Lucy remembered that he excelled at close combat so she sent Aries home and quickly called Capricorn. Capricorn and Loki jumped into the fray challenging the man in the cloak. Lucy quickly switched weapons. Changing her regular whip to the Fleuve d'etoiles, which had a longer reach then her other whip. Staying at a safe distance she began to aid her spirits. In between the fast punches, the rib cracking kicks, she let her whip coil around the man whipping him into different objects. However effective this strategy was the cloaked man was still holding his own against the three of them. He would block a bunch here, deliver a kick here, and manage to dodge her whip from coiling around his arm only to get kicked instead. He was being overwhelmed but that smirk never left his face.

Lucy could feel Loki and Capricorn wavering with the constant battle so she quickly switched them out. First she switched Loki out with Aries who managed to capture the cloaked man for a few seconds by his feet and that was all Lucy needed. Sending Loki home in a blink of a eye she brought out the Gemini Twins who quickly floated over to the cloaked man and tapped him on the forehead. The stranger scowled at the spirits and snatched one of them before they could transform. He threw mini against a tree and Lucy gasped in shock and ran over to the little creature as the stranger started to free himself.

"Go home Gemini. You did great, exactly what we wanted," she said smiling and sending Gemini back to the Spirit world.

"Very smart Lucy Heartfillia. Very smart indeed," he said as a dark shadow encased the pink cloud and made it disintegrate.

Lucy backed up a few steps the River of Stars clutched in her grasp as she sent Aries home as well to gain a little of her magical energy back. Lucy thought he only used one type of magic. His Memory Access magic, but seeing those shadows creep around his form she had to re-think her plan. Yes she had always associated him with a shadow but that was because of her nightmare. She recalled that in their last encounter a shadow had encased her wrist but she had thought it was his partner. So could he use limited shadow magic as well, or was there someone else in the forest with them. Aiding him?

Lucy lashed out making him jump back to avoid her whip. In the backlash of her whip she attached it to a nearby tree branch and swung over to the bubbling creak. She knew that Aquarius would be anything but pleased at being called from a creak but she needed the water just in case. She turned back to the cloaked man and quickly dodged right to avoid the fist that was heading for her face but was unable to block the knee that connected with her stomach. She doubled over and let out a curse before swishing her one leg out to drop him to the ground.

"Open gates, Taurus and Sagittarius!" she called and two bursts of light appeared on either side of her as she blocked another punch and a kick.

"Mooooo, Luuuccyyy," Taurus yelled as he swung his battle-axe between the two of them making the cloaked figure take a step away from Lucy.

"Moshi, Moshi," Sagittarius said as he let his arrows fly pinning the man to a nearby tree. Taurus rose his axe ready to deliver the final blow (not a fatal blow, just one to knock him unconscious. Lucy could never actually kill!) when the man began to laugh hysterically. Lucy and Taurus both paused for a split second before she nodded to continue, but the man opened his eyes and locked onto Lucy's brown.

"I think that's enough fun and games don't you think," he said before a huge pulse of magic erupted from his body.

Shadows cascaded from ever nook and cranny twisting up Taurus and Sagittarius' bodies. They wailed in pain and Lucy screamed and forced their gates closed before they could get seriously injured. Memories of her nightmare slowly began to inch their way back into her mind and she had to forcefully push away the fear that began to creep its way through her body. The shadows released the man and he began to stalk towards Lucy. She lashed out her whip and he retaliated with a shadow whip.

"You have become quite strong in your time," he said as he lashed out again with his whip.

"You didn't give me much of a choice," Lucy said her anger begin to boil as she rolled to the side to dodge his deadly whip.

"Very true, and you've learnt so much in that short amount of time," he said as his whip connected with her shoulder and she screamed in pain.

"You managed to increase your magical energy, along with your fighting skills," he said his voice holding a tone boarding on the edge of being impressed.

"You've figured out what magic I use," he said his whip cracking and Lucy rolled to the side again barely managing to dodge the black whip.

"You somehow managed to block a memory from me," he said anger clearly in his voice as he dodged one of Lucy's attacks.

"And you still managed~" he said and the whip wrapped around Lucy's arm.

"To become even more attached~" he said and tossed Lucy against a tree.

"To those stupid Fairy Tail mages that you call a family," he said as Lucy crumpled to the ground.

"What does my relationship with Fairy Tail have to do with this," Lucy said confused as she slowly got up and touched her head her hand coming away with blood.

"I needed you to be vulnerable, alone, and fearful. That's how I found you. After that clock made you a dying breed, you kept to yourself slowly becoming distant to your family. It was the perfect opportunity," he said wrapping another whip around her leg and making her fall to the ground.

"But NOOO! You had to find strength in your family. You had to tell them your fears. They made you stronger, they made you feel hope!" he said disgusted as he sent his whip and cut a deep gash into her leg.

"I just can't decide what to do to them to make them pay for what they did," he said as his laughed evilly.

"Don't go anywhere near my family," she said lashing out again. Her whip coiling around his torso and biting into flesh. She saw him grimace in pain for only a second before he sent his whip at her face.

"Your family is what's standing in my way!" he said and Lucy rolled next to the creak.

"YOU. WILL. NOT. TOUCH. MY. FAMILY!" Lucy screamed at him as she took out three keys.

She plunged Aquarius's key into the river calling the mermaid forward in a golden light. She took out two other keys, Virgo and Scorpios, and two other lights appeared around her. Aquarius scoffed, Scorpio flashed a wicked grin, and Virgo smiled mumbling something about punishment before they all burst into action. Virgo dived into the earth as Scorpio quickly sent a blast of sand at the cloaked man. Virgo made a huge hole, which the cloaked man fell into where Aquarius sent a huge blast of water into the hole making the man splutter and choke. Lucy switched Aquarius and Scorpio for Aries and Sagittarius. Who pinned and filled the hole with pink wool and arrows making the man completely useless. He could not move even if he wanted to, and his magic was completely useless since he was up to his neck in pink wool.

"You see. Your family makes you stronger," the man said in an emotionless voice.

"They feed you their strength. And you would do anything to protect them," he said his face gaining a little smirk.

Lucy looked down at him frowning. She despised this man down to her very core. He had threatened her family, made her quake in fear, and made her almost loose hope. But now she had won. By looking at her you wouldn't have thought that. Her body was battered and bruised. Blood slowly ran down the side of her face, she had two deep cuts, one on her shoulder and the other on her leg. She had minor cuts and bruises all over her body and her body was almost completely drained of magical energy, but the fight was over.

"You think it is over don't you," he said his smirk growing as Lucy's hope fell into a million pieces.

"No Star Gazer. You may have me trapped but you see I still have one trick up my sleeve," he said looking up at her and his ice blue eyes pierced her brown eyes. His scarred face making his smirk look even more sinister that before.

"What do you mean?" Lucy demanded fear starting to rise in her body.

"Ah I just have a question for you Star Gazer? A choice perhaps…" he said as he chuckled to himself obviously finding this amusing.

"Can you say goodbye to your friends before they either loose their memories of the meaning of nakama, or all their memories of you?" he asked as he watched her carefully.

"WHAT!" Lucy screamed as she let her whip fly slicing his check, which only made him smirk even more. Panic and fear laced her heart at his words. Nakama or her that was his question! He couldn't even move and he was threatening her family. He couldn't do anything and this was the question he posed to her. But if he could do it, could she stop it.

"No you can't stop it Star Gazer. My spell has already been formed before I reached this forest. I just need to add the final touch, and believe me I can do it from this distance even under this massive layer of wool," he said and smirked as he looked up at the terrified Lucy. A sight that he took great joy in.

Lucy glared down at him. He wasn't bluffing, and she could still stop him. She would never let him use that spell to wipe away her friends memories of their nakama. She had already experienced what they would become if that happened. They wouldn't have each other, Fairy Tail would not be the same, and they would become completely different people, turning on their family. She shivered at the memories of her nightmare and brought her whip up to render him unconscious when he began to laugh again.

"There it is the answer I have been waiting for. Thank you Star Gazer," he said and before Lucy could bring the handle of her whip down a massive pulse of magical energy pushed her back. She looked up in terror as the black magic circle appeared above him with the little golden flecks dancing in the thick black.

"NO!" she screamed. She didn't even give him an answer. She had said nothing and she couldn't stop him. Lucy stood quickly and ran over to the hole in which the man was now laughing like a complete lunatic. He was completely deranged and she grabbed him by the cloak and slapped him hard across the face. He only continued to laugh.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Lucy demanded as she screamed in his face.

Those cold eyes stared into hers and she felt the fear pierce her heart.

"I have given you time Star Gazer. Time to say goodbye to your friends before their memories of you are whipped clean from their disgusting minds," he said laughing again and Lucy dropped him back into the wool infested hole.

As the man fell backwards Lucy watched as his body slowly began to fade and turn into a shadow. A chill swept up her spin as she stood up looking around to see where he had disappeared too. She screamed into the forest and the only answer she got was a cold shadow running up her body and a faint disgusting whisper that tickled her ear.

"Tick Tock Star Gazer. Your family's time is running out," he said and Lucy whirled around tears already streaking her face.

Why? Why! Was he doing this to her. It was all just a game to him. Letting her fight him thinking she was fighting to save the ones she loved. Then turning the tables and taking the one thing she cared for the most in this world. The one thing she was trying so desperately to protect. Lucy ran blindly through the forest. She had to get back to Fairy Tail. She had to warn them about it. She had to do something, anything to stop what was going to happen.

However as Lucy ran reason began to catch up with her. He said that he was taking away the memories of her. Why? The other option would have been much more terrible, and much better for him. He would have turned them into the exact opposite of what they were. As Lucy ran she began to run through his reasons, and like a light switch everything fell into place. Their conversation before had lead up to his question. He had talked a lot about nakama and how she had drawn strength from them, but he had seemed most distraught when Gemini touched him, when he first brought up her relationships, and how she had figured out his magic. He didn't want them to remember their attachment with Lucy and therefore to him. They had all the pieces to come after him. If he took Lucy they would come after them, but if they couldn't remember her all those attachments would have disappeared and there would be no one to come and save Lucy. Lucy would be completely alone, vulnerable, just like he wanted.

Lucy let out a sob as the realization hit her. Lucy hated this man. Hated everything he had done to her life, and now he was taking away her family. It was a terrible thing to do, but the alternative was never an option. Out of the two he had given her without her thinking she would still have gone for this option. She could never let them forget what family meant to them, it was what brought everyone together. It was everything to Fairy Tail, and if they lost that, then it wouldn't be the place she loved. At least with this option they would all still have each other, even if they wouldn't have her anymore. He had said that she had time to say goodbye. She ran harder, pushing her body to the limit so she could say goodbye to the only people she cared for in the world.

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**Will Lucy make it in time to either save her friends, or say goodbye? What was the agreement with Loki? Find out in the next chapter... **


	12. Chapter 12 - Her Sacrifice

**Hello Fairies! Welcome and Enjoy! This was actually the first chapter I wrote for this story and the idea that got me rolling. I had found a common theme in the show Fairy Tail and It got me thinking and this is what I came up with. I'll tell you at the end of the chapter what that theme was. So here you go. A chapter that I have been wanting to post from the beginning.**

**Also sorry it's on the shorter side **

**Please Review I want to hear what you have to say :)**

**I do not own Fairy Tail**

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Lucy ran through the busy streets of Magnolia. Her mind was empty, and numb as she ran towards the guild of Fairy Tail. She could feel the pulse of her keys at her hip and she skimmed her hand over them. Silently conveying a message to them and listening to their thoughts on how to stop the crazed man. She couldn't think of anything, not even a form of protection to save her friends. She didn't have a choice, he hadn't given her one. She had to fight him in some way. She had to stop him at all costs. He couldn't win. These were the thoughts that Lucy chanted as she ran through the streets of Magnolia, bumping and shoving people out of her way as she ran up the hill to her little guild.

Lucy paused in front of the guild. It's old tattered walls stood tall above her. The farm and over grown grass a happy sight to the saddened eyes of Lucy Heartfellia. She could feel a dark presence behind her. She took a deep breath and gave a hesitant glance back. The cloaked man stood there looming over her. His smile not hard to miss as she glared at him.

"You can't fight it Star Gazer so I will make you a deal," he said moving in closer to her and she screeched and went for her whip.

"Ah don't even think of it," he said grabbing her wrists and leaned forward. His stale scent wafting to her nose.

"I give you my word that no harm will come to your friends. Now if you try to resist, and you don't come with me, lets just say that the memories of you will not be the only thing they will be loosing," Lucy looked at him with terror. Her body started to shake as she looked into his cold eyes that rang with deadly truth.

"Now go to your little fairies. Try anything while in there and they will all suffer," he said with a slight laugh and shoved her towards the door.

"Y- You'll g-give me time," she said her voice shaking.

"Ah time. It's so feeble and weak, but yes," he said disappearing into a shadow with a sinister laugh.

Lucy took a deep breath trying to calm her now pulsing heart. She had made her decision. She would go through with the mad man's plan even though it was a crazy thought. She would always fight him, but right now she needed to protect her family. He could be lying to her but she had no other option. She didn't no how to counter the spell, she didn't know how to protect them. Maybe in time she would find a weakness some way to break free of his grasp, and then she could return to her family, even if they wouldn't remember her.

She turned and pushed open the guildhall door. A sad smile spread across her face as she looked at the happy guild. A lone tear breaking from her brown eye. The guild was as noisy as ever. Bottles were flying, laughter was bouncing off the walls, and a fight was brewing in the chaos of it all. Lucy needed to get everyone's attention. She didn't know how long he was going to give her and she didn't want a second to be wasted. She had learnt that in the past 40 days. Lucy brought out Loke's key and he appeared at her side. He gave her a sad look and brought her into a side hug. He knew what she wanted him to do, so he brought his one hand up high in the air.

"Ready Lucy," he said using her real name instead of one of his nicknames.

"Yes Loke, it's time," she said squeezing his hand.

Loke let out his Regulas Blast blinding everyone in the room. There was confusion and Loke left his master's side so she could address them properly. Lucy stood until the light faded then looked up to see everyone starring at her with confusion.

"I-I need everyone to listen to what I have to say. It's very important," she began not moving from her spot in front of the door.

"Luce what happened?" Natsu said stepping closer to her knowing that something was wrong, but Lucy put her hand up stopping him in his tracks.

"P-Please Natsu. J-Just… Just let me say this," she said her voice beginning to shake.

The guild looked at her with worry. They all knew something was wrong. Had the day come? Many of them thought as they looked at the battered Lucy. They could see a streak of blood on her cheek, and two nasty cuts on her arm and leg. They knew that something had gone wrong, and they were all to frozen to speak up about it. Instead they waited to hear what Lucy had to say to them, all feeling that it what she had to say was going to be very important.

"I want you all to know how much I care for each and every one of you. We have all been through so much together and you have always been there for me. You have taught me to face my fears, to love and fight for what you believe in and for the one's you care about. You have shown me that no matter how small the person; they can have the strength to change the world. Ever since I first set foot in those doors I have been welcomed and loved. You are my family. Time is not always kind but I do not regret a moment spent here. My memories at this guild will always be my most treasured memories, and I'm glad that I got to spend them with all of you," Lucy said her voice strong even though she finally began to break down as tears flowed down her face.

She took a deep breath trying to regain her composure. Most of her guild mates were crying at her speech, but there was confusion in their eyes. Movement caught her eye as Natsu stepped forward again only a few feet away from her.

"Luce?" he questioned but Lucy cut him off again addressing the guild once more.

"I will never forget you or the memories and adventures we shared. This is goodbye," she said and only a few seconds passed before a mysterious black magic circle appeared above the guild, it's gold flecks shimmering in the darkness.

Lucy watched in horror as her guild mates slumped to the ground falling into a slumber. They dropped like flies, draping over tables and chairs or leaning against the closest person. Some called out to her and Lucy could see some of them fighting it. Trying to keep their eyes open. Lucy watched as Erza's eyes locked with hers. Erza's jaw was clenched but Lucy didn't see anger in her eyes only a deep sadness before she slowly fell to the floor a lone tear streaking down Erza's cheek. Gray was the second last to fall. Stumbling a few steps mumbling a faint Lucy before he slumped against a pillar frosting it over with his magic. The last figure standing was the hardest to watch. He had taken three shuddering steps towards her than had fallen to his knees, refusing to give in to the spell that had taken the guild.

Lucy knelt in front of Natsu her eyes slowly forming with even more tears. This was the last time that she would see the warmth in those eyes directed at her, the last time she could talk to him like this, the last time he would remember her. It broke her heart but the alternative was never an option. It was a cruel decision. Making her friends forget about her or forget everything that made them themselves. The last option was not an option in the least, she would never choose it in a million years, so Lucy choose the alternative with ease and heartbreak. Although she couldn't help but wish that she didn't have to choose in the first place. This way they would all still have each other. They would all still believe and have their nakama, the guild would be the same, and everyone would still be there happy self. It was better but it didn't mean that it still didn't hurt.

"L-Luce what's going on?" Natsu pleaded with worried eyes as he reached forward and swiped a stray tear away from her face.

The spell had already worked on most of the guild and everyone had already passed out from it. When they woke up they would have no memory of Lucy or her time at the guild.

"I'm so sorry Natsu, I didn't have a choice it was either me, or a part of everyone. He didn't give me any other choice," Lucy said her voice coming out in a whisper as more tears streaked down her face.

"Luce? He came for you?" Natsu asked his own voice becoming desperate as he looked over her battered body.

"Yes. Today is that fateful day. I tried Natsu… I fought him and I won, but he uses memory magic Natsu. He needs me to cooperate, he doesn't want me to have any attachments, and he doesn't want anyone to save me. H-He said that he would erase the meaning of family from your mind and make you all turn against each other. I saw it in my nightmare you wouldn't be yourself, you would hurt your nakama, you all would become monsters…" Lucy said her voice confessing every emotion she had bottled up inside.

"What memory is he taking?" Natsu asked in a serious tone, already feeling drowsy but not wanting to take his eyes off the beautiful blonde in front of him. He had to know exactly what was going on at the guild, and why Lucy was so distraught about the situation.

Lucy paused placing a gentle hand on the side of Natsu's face. He thought that it was only going to be one memory; he was going to be angry with her when he found out the truth, but Lucy wasn't holding anything back. This was the last time she would talk to her Natsu and she wasn't going to lie to him.

"He's taking away all the memories of me," Lucy said with a tearful sad smile as her world came crashing down around her.

Lucy eye's tore away from the hurtful and angered eyes of Natsu. She knew he would be angry, but she couldn't bear to look at him with those emotions dancing in his eyes. It hurt too much and she could only take so much pain.

Natsu was indeed angry but that wasn't the only thing Natsu felt at Lucy's words. He was frustrated with the situation, desperate to find an alternative, and determined to not let her words come true. He would never forget Lucy. She was his partner, his other half; she wouldn't be taken away from him so easily. They had been through so much together. They had laughed, cried, and fought together. Lucy meant too much to him to just be erased from his memory. Sadness hit him like a tidal wave, crashing him against the rocks. If this happened he would forget everything about Lucy, everything they did together, and what she meant to him. He wouldn't remember the first time they meet, their first mission, and every mission after. The time he dug up a Sakura tree for her, or slept in her bed, how they had gotten closer in the past few weeks, and the beautiful moment on the Ferris wheel they shared last night. Every happy memory he had with her would be taken away. He couldn't, he wouldn't' let this happen, but he had no clue how to fight the oncoming darkness that was eating away at his consciousness.

Lucy had broken down in front of him. Her warm hand had fallen off his face and was clutching his vest tightly as she sobbed into his chest. He brought his hands up to either side of her face bringing her watery eyes up to his. Lucy's bright brown eyes were clouded with pain and sadness, something he never wanted to see in her cheerful eyes. He gave Lucy his goofy grin hoping to bring some kind of happiness to her sad demeanour. Lucy laughed and returned his smile and he was graced to see her face brighten for those few moments. He laughed and whipped a few more tears from her face keeping a firm grasp on her checks. It was the only thing holding him from the darkness.

"Luce remember the Infinity Clock?" he said dipping down to look into her eyes and she nodded.

"I told you I would never forget you and I mean it Luce. You mean to much to me and no silly spell is going to keep us apart," Natsu said leaning his forehead against hers.

"Natsu…" Lucy started her voice betraying her as fresh tears sprang to her eyes.

"I won't forget you Luce. Ever okay, it's not going to happen," he said more forcefully as the darkness crept over his vision.

"And I'll never forget you," Lucy said putting her hands on his face again.

Natsu's vision was starting to fade and he swayed a little to the right. Lucy let out a little yelp as she slowly rested Natsu on the ground. His vision was blurring and he could just make out Lucy's golden locks and starry eyes looking down at him. He would fight whatever was happening to him, he wasn't going to forget.

"Goodbye Natsu," Lucy said above him brushing his rose strands of hair away from his face. He grabbed her hand stopping it mid brush and held her hand tightly.

"No Luce. I'll see you soon, there's too much I still want to do with you," he said his body becoming heavy as the drowsiness quickened.

"Me too Natsu. Me too…" Lucy said watching as his eyes tried to focus on her only breaking her heart further.

"Luce…" Natsu trailed off as his world faded into darkness the last image of Lucy fading away from his mind like an evening breeze.

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**And that theme if you haven't guessed is the fact that her guild will loose Lucy from their memory. It was a theme at the end of the Infinity clock and the episode where Lucy turned invisible.**

**I hope you enjoyed chapter. Till next time... **


	13. Chapter 13 - Her New Reality

**Hello Fairies! Hope the last chapter wasn't to sad, however it was a goal of mine to try and make people cry :D Anywho, here is my next chapter. Hope you all enjoy. **

**Please drop a review or any kind of criticism (I'm always ready to listen if you have comments of criticism that could make my writing or story better) **

**I do not own Fairy Tail. **

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The guild was deadly quite. The only sound was the hysteric sobs coming from the blonde that sat near the guild doors sobbing into her hands. The guild members all lay around her in a deep sleep. A golden light appeared beside her and a man with orange hair and wearing a black suit knelt beside her and gave her a hug. She clutched onto him and sobbed into his sleeve. However they didn't get the peace they wanted. Soon a dark figure came up behind her and roughly grabbed her hair pulling her up. Loke punched the man and took Lucy in his arms making sure she was okay.

"I-I'll be fine," she said between sobs giving Loke a hug and placing something in his hands. He looked at her with wide eyes as he gripped the object tighter in his hands his knuckles going white. Light sparkled off the golden and silver keys. She only gave him a determined and sad look as tears streamed down her face. She brought up his key and forcefully closed his gate. The last thing she heard from her Lion Spirit was him calling her name in anguish. She slowly turned to the cloaked man clipping Loke's key to her now empty belt discreetly. Knowing that this memory would be shielded from the man in front of her. She felt the cold shadows incase her wrists and she shivered at the figure in front of her.

"Now. Let's go shall we. We have many things to get done," he said as he pulled her forward beginning to open the wooden door.

"Ahhhh my HEAD!" a male voice sounded behind Lucy.

Lucy froze as she heard that voice. Loud groans came from the guild behind her and she slowly turned around along with the cloaked man who had frozen as well. This was obviously not part of his plan. They were waking up. Lucy slowly looked at the stirring faces of her guild. Many of them yawned and stretched their arms high above them looking around at the guild in confusion. Her eyes found the six that she held closest to her heart. Makarov opened the door to his office rubbing his eyes and looking down at his family making sure nothing was too damaged. Wendy was looking at Romeo blushing madly since she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Levy was looking around at her books in confusion and stifled a yawn and looked up at Gajeel who only grunted at her. Erza stood up suddenly and touched her face. Lucy could see a lone tear on her check but she just brushed it away like it was a bug and walked over to the bar demanding cheesecake. Gray got up and was the first to look at her he raised a single eyebrow in confusion and then was pinned down by Juvia. Lucy's brown sad eyes finally fell on Natsu who was slowly getting up from the ground complaining the entire way. She felt a firm hand on her arm and she shivered.

"Don't try anything funny or you know what will happen," the cloaked man whispered harshly in her ear.

"OI! Who was it?" Natsu said rubbing his head looking for a fight.

Natsu's dark eyes locked onto hers then. She wanted to burst into tears at that very moment. The look Natsu gave her was one of confusion as his eyebrows drew together as he took in the stranger before him. She held back her tears as she looked into eyes that now didn't recognize and remember her. She thought she had been heartbroken before, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. The pain that pulverized her heart was like many small pins slowly pushing and locking themselves in her heart. She finally looked away from his questioning gaze ready to walk out of there without looking back. She covered her right hand that still bore the pink fairy tail mark and began to move for the door.

She felt a warm hand grab her shoulder that was far to familiar and she tried hard not to react in any way possible. Willing the tears and the sobs to keep at bay she made eye contact with the cloaked man. His eyes were deathly cold and she knew that if she messed this up he would personally torment every single member in the guild. She still had too protect them, they were all still in danger. She turned slowly to her best friend with a dead expression.

"Oi! What are you doing here? I've never seen you before?" he asked his face breaking into a serious expression, not knowing that his words were like daggers to her already broken heart.

"No I was just passing through. Your guild was already far into a party when I arrived, it doesn't surprise me you don't remember. I just stopped by to get food and a little rest," she said keeping her voice normal and risking a sweat smile at him. Her voice unwavering as she made up a story for them all to believe.

"Oh okay," he said. Natsu then glanced at his hand that was still resting on her shoulder. He looked at his own hand confused like it had acted on his own. He yanked his hand away from her shoulder like it had been burned.

"Well Goodbye," Lucy choked out as the cloaked man slowly tugged her away from Natsu.

"Yea see ya around," he said smiling at her as the confusion left his face and his happy demeanour appeared again.

Lucy's mind was screaming in agony as her eyes connected with Natsu's onyx eyes. Lucy became lost in his dark eyes never wanting to look away as she forced a smile to spread across her face. She had looked into those dark eyes many times. She had seen them happy, sad, angry, confused, pained, and compassionate. She could look into those deep dark pools forever and right now it only tore at her heart. Lucy was positive that Natsu would look away but he never did, his own eyes getting lost in her brown.

Then a chair connected with his head and he slowly turned finally looking away from Lucy. His attention was diverted as he began to pick a fight with Gray who hadn't even thrown the chair. Lucy let out a long shaking breath as the cloaked man practically dragged her out the now open door. Nobody noticed their departure. The memory of a blonde completely erased from their minds. However Lucy was still hung up on Natsu's reaction. He didn't recognize her, he didn't remember her but a little glimmer of hope sprang in her chest. Lucy couldn't explain the moment they shared, it had seemed like time had stopped as they looked into each other's eyes. Maybe just maybe there was hope in her now very dark world.

It wasn't until the cloaked man had dragged her into the forest that she finally came back to her thoughts. Reality slapped her hard in the face as she began to access her situation. She pushed the thoughts of her family out of her mind for now, they were safe, and that's what was important. She didn't' have her keys. Only a single golden key was attached to her belt baring the mark of Leo the Lion. That was her deal with Loke. If everything fell apart he would take her keys with him to keep away from the grimy hands of the cloaked man. Yes that would mean she couldn't defend herself as best as she could if she had her keys, but she had been the tool of too many projects. She wouldn't let her precious keys get in the hands of evil again. She kept Loke's key so she wasn't completely alone, so she had a least one spirit she could call if the situation presented itself, and so she could communicate with him and her other spirits. They needed to know what was happening on her end and if she needed her spirits.

Lucy tried to free herself from the shadow bonds that encased her wrists but no matter how much she tried they never budged. She still had both her whips but she couldn't reach them or use them at the moment. She was completely useless as she stumbled after her captor. Lucy was about to resort to hand to hand combat with her hands tied when the man stopped suddenly and shadows encased her legs making her unable to move. He turned to her and her body froze in fear.

His pale eyes held anger and death. Something she didn't think eyes could hold. His scarred face was pale and stretched as he came closer to her, his stale scent wafting over her yet again. His bony hands came up to clutch her face making her look into his cold eyes. She attempted to pull away from his grip but he only gripped her tighter. His nails slowly digging into her pale cheeks.

"You have become quite a problem for me, but at least your mine now," he said his thin lips slowly twitching into a sneer.

"What do you want with me?" she snapped at him as she tried again to escape his grasp. Bringing her face back up to his he inched closer making Lucy want to vomit.

"You shall find out very soon Star Gazer," he said shoving her face and making her fall hard on the forest floor. Her legs and hands still bound by shadows.

"Let's go shall we," he said lifting his arms into the air with a cackle.

Lucy watched helplessly as shadows from every tree and bush cascaded towards them like a river. The shadows circled around them then began to twist around the two figures bodies like vines. Lucy thrashed against her bindings as the shadows slowly began to consume her body making her feel numb and cold. Her vision began to blur as the shadows reached her face slowly taking away her last sight of Magnolia. As the shadows finally covered Lucy's body and the man's they sunk into the shadows themselves leaving a peaceful and quite forest behind. The echo of a scream slowly fading into the blue sky.

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Lucy was thrown harshly into a dark stone cell immediately after they left the beautiful green forests of Magnolia. She yelped in pain as her body scraped harshly against the rough stone floor. She slowly propped herself up on one elbow ready to fight back when the clang of metal sounded and she was denied her only time to escape. She let out a low growl as she glared at the man in front of her. His smug little smile never leaving his face.

"Welcome to your new home," he snarled. "Oh yes I will be needing these," he said as a shadow encased her key pouch. Lucy flinched as her keys were snatched away from her by a shadow and floated over to his bony hand.

"Don't want you fighting back now do we," he said as a bag appeared beside him and key holder dropped into it.

Lucy kept her face angry but inside she was completely freaking out. He didn't want her keys. He hadn't even looked to see if her keys were there. What was this guy's deal? What did he want if not her keys? He began to move away but Lucy scrambled to her feat and tightly gripped the cold metal bars.

"What do you want with me?" she asked again to his retreating figure. He paused and slowly turned his head to face her.

"You will find out later," he said with a little laugh as he began to walk away again.

"Can I at least know your name?" she questioned hoping to get a least a little information before she was left alone in the depressing cell.

"And why would I do a thing like that?" he regarded coolly.

"Unless you want me to call you creepy cloaked man," she spat at him and he let out a creepy laugh.

"That's what you call me," he said with a hint of humor never looking at her as he stood in the dark hallway.

"Well that or Shadow," Lucy said with hint of disgust that he was obviously taking joy in this. She just wanted any kind of information, even if it was just a name to put to this nightmare.

"Well isn't that ironic. I am called Hadrian Senka or just Senka. My name meaning 'dark shadow' so your little nickname is quite accurate," he said laughing like a madman as he walked away disappearing into the darkness of the hallway.

Lucy glared off into the darkness. Her pale hands gripping the bars so tightly her knuckles turned white. She could feel the tears threatening to fall. She had put on a brave face for her guild, and against this Senka. Her emotions and tears were coming back in full force as everything slowly began to click into the shocking puzzle of her new reality. She was trapped in a dark cell, without her keys, and without anyone knowing who or where she was. She was completely and utterly alone as she slowly sank down to the cold stone floor.

Sobs racked her body as her hands bit into the cold steel. The pain in her hands was a distant memory as the events of the morning played over and over in her mind. The utter defeat and hopelessness she felt as she ran towards her guild. The pained eyes of her comrades as they slowly fell asleep around her. The gazes that didn't recognize her especially one dark onyx pair that she never wanted to leave behind. A pain erupted in her chest like a gapping hole as she thought of Natsu. Her best friend didn't remember her, would she ever see his smiling face again. She had no clue what was in store for her here, would she make it out with her life, or would she perish in the darkness with nobody knowing what happened to her. Lucy screamed when she felt two hands slowly encircle her in a hug.

Lucy twisted away from the figure pushing out her hands to create some space as her training kicked in. Lucy was sitting in a low crouch looking at the stunned figure before her. Lucy analyzed the figure, her nerves on high alert as she accessed the situation. Before her sat a young girl around the same age as Lucy. She had short white hair that framed her heart shaped face. Her hair was tattered and messed up. Her face had cuts and a small bruise coloured the right side of her face. Lucy was strangely reminded of Lisanna as she looked at her face. Without the cuts and bruises they would have looked quite similar. However this young girl had deep brown eyes laced with concern and pain. The young girl was wearing little white shorts and a white strapless top with hems decorated in royal blue. Her clothes were cut in places with a little dried blood, and were dusty and dirty. She wore high white shocks that were cut and scrapped at the knees.

"Who are you?" Lucy said in a calm voice as she whipped the tears away from her face as she tried to regain her shaking breathing.

"My name is Yukino Aguria," she said as she adjusted so she was sitting with her legs tucked under her. Her eyes were downcast as she looked at her tightly clasped hands. Lucy dropped her crouched defensive stance and sat cross-legged in front of the other girl.

"Sorry if I hurt you," Lucy said trying to calm her pacing heart.

"I'm fine…. Are you okay?" Yukino said finally looking up at Lucy and she gasped. Lucy's brow furrowed in confusion at the now surprised face the girl was wearing.

"Are you okay?" Lucy called as she rose a slender eyebrow at the girl in front of her.

Lucy watched astonished as the girl began sobbing. Lucy slowly approached the girl and placed a hesitant hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl finally looked up her eyes brimming with tears. Lucy looked on, her heart tightening in pain at the girl's pained, and saddened expression. The young Yukino put a slender hand on top of Lucy's and gave her a weak and sad smile.

"I didn't want him to get you as well," Yukino said as a sob tore through her throat.

"I'm sorry but do I know you?" Lucy asked trying to not hurt the girl's feelings.

"No you don't but I know you. I have always looked up to you when I was younger. Lucy of Fairy Tail the Stellar Spirit Mage. You were and still are my idol. The entire time I was in here I wished and prayed that he wouldn't go after you. Every day he passed by I looked at the faces and prayed for those sad souls and thanked the stars above that it wasn't you," she said as her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Others?" Lucy questioned her eyes growing serious. What was Senka's plan? Why was he gathering others?

"Yes I was one of the first. He has been bringing in others every week. I would say that there are maybe 10 Celestial wizards here," Yukino said and Lucy froze.

"You're a Celestial Wizard?" Lucy questioned not believing her words. She thought all had lost their magic like the young girl she had saved on her mission.

"Yes I am. I'm Sabertooth's Celestial Wizard," Yukino said with pride and Lucy smiled.

"The others are they?" Lucy asked and Yukino nodded her head her white hair falling into her eyes.

"Do you know what he wants with us?" Lucy asked trying to slowly piece together this confusing puzzle.

"No I've never left this cell, and he never speaks," she said whipping the tears away from her face.

"How did he get you?" Lucy asked knowing that it would be a touchy subject. She could see the tears brimming in the young girls eyes.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want too," Lucy said reassuringly. "Is there anything you can tell me about Senka," Lucy asked as she began to access her injuries as they talked.

"The conversation you just had with him was the most information I've heard him give," she said finally coming to herself her eyes hardening with determination.

"But I will tell you as much as I know. I-I don't remember much of the attack. I had been having terrible dreams for weeks. I had become paranoid and scarred. One night I was walking back home when the shadows moved. T-There was this laughter and the shadows consumed me. Then I woke up here. I've been here for a long time Lucy. I don't know exactly how long, but every so often he walks by the cell dragging another person with him. Six girls and four boys. I can't always tell their age's but I know there are a few young one's here. Food just appears from the shadows but the nightmares never leave," Yukino said as she looked down at her clasped hands.

Lucy considered what Yukino had told her. There were ten other Celestial Mages in this dark hole, maybe more who had arrived before Yukino. Yukino said that some were young. Lucy's blood boiled at the thought. What did he want with children? It sickened her to think that Senka had plagued the children with fear just so he could get his hands on them. Lucy sighed. So he had used the same technique with Yukino. Making her paranoid and fearful. That's what he had wanted for her. To feel alone, to feel fearful, and to loose hope in her situation. He had used that tactic on her only in a different way. Lucy hadn't been plagued with dreams, he had planted the seed of fear in her a long time ago threatening her family and letting that fear grow in order for her to get strong only to loose all hope in the end. She knew her family were safe for now. Her family wouldn't be coming barging in to save Lucy. She was on her own but she still had people to protect. Lucy looked at the sad eyes of Yukino who looked like she had completely lost hope in her situation, and Lucy made a decision.

"Yukino… I know it seems hopeless, but I promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep everyone safe," Lucy said with determination.

"Lucy…" Yukino said with sad eyes.

"I haven't been able to get a lot out of him. I can tell you what I know. Two heads are better than one right," Lucy said sitting back across from Yukino who nodded for Lucy to continue.

"I will tell you my story as well since it will help. It started 41 days ago for me. I was in a rough state. I felt hopeless because of the Infinity Clock incident. I felt alone and helpless because I thought there were no more Celestial Mages in Fiore. I was in the perfect condition for him. He used my insecurities to stir the fear inside of me. One thing I don't think he suspected was that I told my friends about my fear after he put me through my worst nightmare. My friends and family are my strength and that was something that I don't think he anticipated. He said he wanted me to get stronger. Over those 40 days I trained and researched. He uses shadow magic and he is strong in hand-to-hand combat. He is also a Memory Access Mage; he uses your memories against you. He also is willing to use the one's you love against you. I found out everything I could about Memory Access. He can erase memories, tamper with them, access them, or add memories. It depends if he has contact with you. He is strong. He…." Lucy took a deep breath. She needed to get it out face the reality of the situation and it would help her and Yukino figure things out.

"I-It was this morning. H-He erased memories of me from my guild. Nobody remembers me from my home. He has taken my family away from me so no-one will come looking for me. He is very powerful. He managed to erase all the memories of me from the guild in a single moment," Lucy said as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Lucy why are you telling me all of this," Yukino asked dreading what the blonde would say next. She had this feeling in her stomach that something bad was going to happen.

"Because Yukino. Whatever he is planning, whatever he needs us for. He will be using me, I will make him use me instead of any of you. If something go's wrong I need someone else to know what they will be up against so they can stop him," Lucy said with determined and sad eyes as tears slowly made there way down her face.

"Lucy…" Yukino said as she reached out and gripped Lucy's hand tightly. They stayed like that for a long time. Feeding off the others strength as they sat in the darkened cell. Hope was restored in both of them. A faint glimmer on the horizon of their never-ending nightmare. They waited in the darkness their minds trained on distant thought of friends and family. Hoping that they would have the strength to face whatever came for them in that darkened cell.

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**Till next time Fairies :) Hope you enjoyed **


	14. Chapter 14 - Project of the Stars

**Hello Fairies! Sorry this chapter took so long and sorry it is a little short but I hope it was worth the wait.**

**Please Read and Review :) **

**I do not own Fairy Tail **

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The cold stone bit into her raw back as she hugged her knees closer to her chest. Lucy let out a long sigh as her brown eyes stared off into the darkness beyond the metal bars of her cage. Lucy didn't know how long she had sat there waiting for Hadrian to show his grim face. All she knew was that she was beginning to become anxious and nerves with every passing moment. Lucy closed her eyes trying to keep her mind at peace and keep the worrying thoughts at bay, but the longer she sat there the more her panic and fear crept towards her. She let her head roll to the side to look at Yukino. The hope that Lucy had seen in her eyes when she had arrived had faded into the background and the despair slowly returned. Lucy didn't want to admit it but that despair was slowly beginning to close in on her.

"Yukino. I never asked, what keys did you have?" Lucy asked the question that had been rolling around in her mind for a while now.

Yukino smiled at the question and at the mention of her spirits. "I have two gold keys, three silver…. and I have one of the unknown keys. My silver keys are the compass Pyxis, Cygnus the swan, and the chisel Caelum. I have Pisces the paired fish, and Libra of the Heavenly Scales. My unknown key is known as Ophiuchus the Snake charmer," she said smiling as she talked about her spirits.

Lucy could tell that she cared deeply for her spirits, much like herself who saw them as friends instead of tools. However that joy became sour in her mouth as she noticed that Hadrian now was close to collecting all 12 of the zodiac keys. She didn't know what was possible with all 12 of the keys but knew that nothing good would come of it if their were in the hands of someone evil.

"You care deeply for your spirits," Lucy stated and Yukino replied with a genuine smile.

"What about you?" Yukino asked sitting up to join Lucy.

"I have the other ten Golden keys and five Silver keys. I have the Southern Cross Crux, the Pendulum Clock Horologium, the Lyre Lyra, Canis Minor Nikoras, and I also have the Compass, Pyxis. What worries me is that Hadrian now has all 12 keys within his reach," Lucy sat her eyes moving back to the steal bars as fear clutched her heart.

"Within his reach?" Yukino questioned catching Lucy's little slip.

"I was able to protect one memory from his magic. I can't tell you what it is just in case he is listening but it does help our situation only a little," Lucy said smiling at Yukino.

That smile soon faded when the deep and manic laugh reached their ears. Both snapped their heads to the little corridor in time to see their captor stride into view. His hood was back letting them see the pale eyes and intense scar that decorated his face. His face was contorted into a smirk as his crazed laugher echoed throughout the cell. Lucy couldn't hold back the shiver that racked her body at the feel of the shadows encasing her wrists once more.

"It's time Star Gazer," he said as the cell door swung open and she was pulled violently forward.

"LUCY!" Yukino yelled as Lucy slammed against the cold stone floor.

Lucy could here Yukino standing and panic erupted in her heart. Lucy brought her head up just in time to see Hadrian lift his hand but Lucy was quicker. She pushed herself up in a move Erza had taught her and pushed his arm high in the air making him miss Yukino by inches. She took a step back putting herself between Yukino and the man in front of her bringing her hands up in surrender.

"Don't hurt her. I will go with you peacefully just leave her be," Lucy said her voice wavering in the slightest.

He growled and brought his hands down tugging at the shadows that encased her wrists like a leash. Letting out a deep sigh she glanced back at Yukino who had tears running down her face.

"I'll be okay Yukino. Don't loose hope," Lucy said before she was pushed past the cell loosing sight of her friend. She hoped that she would be okay. However she had spoken to soon.

Hadrian chuckled beside her before slamming her into a wall and raising his hand. Shadows encased her body and she was unable to move. The scream that filled the corridor pierced her heart and sent a chill of horror down her spine. Lucy thrashed against the bonds that encased her scream frantic to try and save her friend Yukino from the punishment that he was forcing on her.

"STOP IT!" Lucy yelled tears flowing down her face as the screams of Yukino echoed throughout the hall. It felt like an eternity of screaming and fighting for Lucy. Who knew what Yukino was going through. It was like de-ja-vu for Lucy. Her nightmare from so long ago playing in her head like a skipped tape. She hadn't been able to protect anyone then and she couldn't protect Yukino now. She cried out in frustration and put all her might against the bonds that encased her but they never budged.

"I think that's enough fun we have business to attend too," he said after several minutes of the agonizing screams that were like music to his psychotic ears.

The screams finally seized and Lucy was released from her bonds only to be pushed violently forward. She fought the entire way calling out to Yukino but she never got a reply, which only made her fight harder. Yukino was a strong girl she could get through whatever Hadrian put her through. However the fear still plagued Lucy's heart as she began to assume the worst. Lucy saw blank faces look up at her as she passed. When the fourth face looked up at her she stopped fighting as hard and took in her surroundings. They were passing the other cells and she was looking in at the other prisoners. There was one last cell that she was to walk by and she looked in and her blood turned cold.

Sitting in the corner of the cell was a young boy of maybe 6 years of age. His little arms circled around his small legs. Lucy could see the cuts and bruises that decorated his tender skin. His bright blue eyes looked up as they passed and she saw the hopelessness that echoed in his tear brimmed eyes. Lucy's own eyes blurred as new tears began to spring forward. She offered him a small smile since it was the only thing she could give him hoping to banish some of that hopelessness from his innocent eyes. She never got to see if he would return her gesture as Hadrian pushed her down the dark corridor.

Lucy's mind was riddled with horror and fear as she stumbled down the dark corridors. She kicked and screamed the entire way, making it very difficult for them to navigate the dark tunnels. They took many twists and turns and went up hills and down hills. Lucy tried to track their progress as she fought against the shadow bonds. By the time they had come into a larger room Lucy had no idea how she would ever find her way back. There had been so many turns that she had lost count. Escape seemed even less possible now that she knew that a maze awaited her in the dark corridors. However what lay in front of her stole her complete attention.

The room was larger than she had first observed. The rock walls stretched high above her and she could see the twinkling of the stars high above her. A large ominous black orb hung in the middle of the room. Metal wiring clung to the walls and wrapped around the black object to keep it in place. Lucy noted that it looked like a large tear as the black orb sat at the bottom and the metal casing stretched high above to the little clearing. It was the strangest thing Lucy had ever laid eyes on. It was also the most threatening object as she felt the dark magic pulse from the black rock that lay at the bottom of the tear.

Lucy attempted to shrink away but Hadrian wasn't having any of that. He took her blonde hair in his hand and dragged her towards a set of stairs she hadn't seen before. Lucy screamed as pain erupted in her scalp. As they ascended the stairs she started to fight back again but the shadows that he controlled kept her mostly restrained. To Lucy's joy she had managed to get one good bite into his hand and another good kick to the shin. He howled in pain and smacked her hard across the check and threw her hard on the little landing they had climbed too. Lucy saw that they now resided right above the ominous black rock. He clasped an iron shackle around her wrists before she could even register what had happened. Tugging on a chain her arms were brought above her head and lifted her up so she was balancing on the balls of her feet.

"What do you plan to achieve?" she spat at him as her anger began to boil over.

He took her chin in his hand and leaned in close. His pale eyes boring into her own. She could see the excitement dance in his eyes as he gazed at her with a lustful look. She suppressed a shiver and met his pale eyes with a deathly glare as his other hand brushed through her hair. His smirk only grew as she continued to glare. Lucy was unable to suppress the next shiver of disgust that flew up her spine as he leaned in even closer almost touching her lips. The disgust that filled her made her want to vomit and crawl into a corner never to return to the light of day.

"My plan is to rule this world," he stated simply. "And you are the key to my success," he said his nasty breath wafting over her.

"I will take great pleasure in watching you wither in pain. It is to bad that the stone of eternal night shall put you into a state of unconsciousness. I rather liked your lively spirit. However I guess that won't be for a few days," he said with a smirk as he played with her hair. Lucy was using all of her self control not to head butt the guy since she needed answers.

"What will happen to me?" she asked her voice sounding small to her own ears.

"I guess it doesn't hurt to tell you my plans considering your already chained up. Nobody will be here to save you. My plan Star Gazer is to unleash the power that Zeref hid in the stone below you. Zeref created the stone to be able to consume the Celestial world whipping away the stars from the sky and then consuming the pure magic that resides there. However it has it's down falls. While it may have unlimited power it acts like a parasite living off another in order to survive. That is why I have collected you and your little Celestial friends. You are his food source and his access point to the Celestial Realm. A door you could say. Whoever unleashes the power held within the stone of eternal night shall be granted ultimate power as well, which is why I have started this plan with such enthusiasm. With that power I can bend anyone to my will, access any memory I wish to see, and torment any who stand in my path. While the stone dominates the sky I shall rule the ground, everything forever cast into the shadows," he said as he burst out into hysterical laughter throwing his head back and laughing up at the night sky.

Lucy felt sick to her stomach. She had never anticipated that the man that had tormented her life could hatch such an evil plan or even that such destruction was even possible. He was going to destroy two worlds just so he could have the ultimate power he craved. All of her friends whether human or spirit were in danger. She had to warn someone about the threats that were creeping upon the world, but how? She was tied to the very machine that was going to cast everything in darkness. To make matters worse they were going to use her to do it. It was going to be her that acted as the door to the Celestial Realm. Her that was going to let the darkness spread across the two worlds. She had to stop it, but how?

Lucy was frozen in fear as her mind rolled in the horror of the situation. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt the brush of cold lips against her own. Lucy reacted instantly biting down hard on the lip till she drew blood than she slammed her head against his.

"Stay away form me!" she yelled as he stumbled back clutching his lip and forehead. She heard his deep chuckle before he looked back up at her a thin trail of blood dripping down his chin. He looked crazed with his excited glint in his eye and the evil smirk that pulled at his scar.

"As feisty as ever I see," he said with a laugh before he descended the steps.

"I won't let you win!" She screamed after him. "I'll never let you or that stupid rock get away with this!" She was fuming now, clawing desperately at any idea that may help save the two worlds.

She could see him now as she looked down his hand placed on the black inky surface of the rock. She could feel the pulse of black magic swell around her. Lucy desperately called on her own magic. Letting it thrive in her chest like she had practiced so many times. She didn't have her keys but she had to try something. She called out to the one spirit she knew c

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ould help her. _Leo_ she called out with her magic. Trying to get him to feel her magic or hear the words they carried._ Loki if you hear this warn the Celestial King. They are going to unleash a dark magic into your world with me as the gate. I will try to stop it, but I can't promise what will happen. Please here these words Loki. _She chanted continuously.

Lucy knew that this attempt was slim but it was her only option. Her magic was tied with her keys and maybe just maybe they could hear her message. It was her third chant when something cold touched her toes. Lucy's eyes snapped open and she looked down only to see that black ink was slowly seeping out of the black rock and encasing her. She only had a few moments to ponder the oddity of it before the pain began. The pain hit her like a sledgehammer and she screamed at the top of her lungs. She threw her head back and tried to fend off the increasing pain. Her eyes were trained on the distant stars above her as tears of pain fell form her chocolate eyes. As the inky surface crawled up her skin coating every part of her with it's dark magic.

As the black ink spread over her face she felt the pulse of her own magic acting on its own. _NO_! She screamed as a magic circle appeared above and below her opening a gate to the celestial world. She fought through the pain and tried to force close the gate above her but to no avail. The inky substance began to invade her vision. The last image she had before her vision left her was a single star high above her flickering out. Leaving a dark and empty hole where it used to be.

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All across Fiore citizens ran outside in horror as the stars began to fade from the sky. Like a dark blanket slowly washing over the night sky. Everyone knew that the vanishing stars were a bad omen. Something was coming and it only struck fear in the citizen's hearts. In a certain guild on the edges of Magnolia all of the young wizards rushed outside. Many could feel the foreboding feeling deep in their guts as they watched the stars fade from the sky. Nobody understood what was happening but all of them knew that this was only the beginning.

However a certain group of exceeds and a young blonde wizard with wings in her hair looked on with concerned and determined eyes. They stood away from the group of Fairy Tail wizards looking up at the sky with a knowing look. They were running out of time and they needed to act fast to complete the mission that lay ahead of them and to save their beloved friend from the clutches of the darkness.

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**Till next time...**


	15. Chapter 15 - A Fairy with Hope

**Hello Fairies! This chapter is a little short, but I'm taking us back a step to the morning before the stars fade. Let's see what was happening back at the guild. **

**Read and Review**

**I do not own Fairy Tail**

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Earlier that morning before the night would turn dark and the stars would fade from the sky a certain group of exceeds were making their way back to the guild after being absent from it for four days.

The wind whipped through her white fur as Carla and the exceeds made their return journey home. Carla was anxious to get back. She tried not to fear the worst knowing that Lucy was determined to protect her family, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong and that something worse lay in the future. She hadn't voiced her worries but she assumed that Happy and Lily could tell that something was amiss for she had remained silent. She even had accepted one of Happy's fish in order to try and divert her attention from her concerned thoughts. Which only increased the worried glances from Lily.

Carla let out a large sigh when the town of Magnolia came into view as they flew over a nearby mountain. It was the afternoon and the city seemed quite and peaceful. Spotting the distant guild on the hilltop Carla put on a burst of speed leaving the other two behind. She could hear Happy calling out her name but she ignored his concerned voice as she swooped down on the guild. She flew through an open window on the second floor and perched on the window sill looking down at the guild she had come to love (she would never voice this opinion to anyone but herself).

To Carla the guild at first glance seemed as rowdy as ever. However on closer inspection she noticed that something was definitely off. She first noticed that a certain blonde was missing from the happy faces that laughed below her. Her stomach dropped at the thought, Carla secretly hopped that Lucy just hadn't shown up today however that hope was only a faint glimmer in her nervous mind.

Carla cast her calculating brown eyes to the rest of the guild. Mira and Lisanna stood behind the bar cleaning and serving drinks but their smiles never really reached their eyes. Cana sat on a nearby table drinking with Macao but she only drank half a barrel instead of a full one. Levy sat at her usual table surrounded by books. However she didn't even glance at the worn covers, instead she held a stack of papers as she read them carefully. Gajeel was sitting close by hands crossed and eyes cast downwards seeming more troubled than usual. Team Natsu were showing the most bizarre behaviour. They all sat around a table talking and occasionally arguing but none of them got up to engage in a fight like they usually would. Carla spotted Wendy with the team and flew down to inquire about a certain blonde that was vacant from the guild.

Carla landed softly on the table beside Wendy and was received in a giant hug by the blue haired mage. Carla thanked Mavis that Wendy was unharmed, but now she had to find out what happened in the guild after she had left. Stepping away from Wendy and crossing her arms she looked around at Team Natsu getting right down to business.

"What happened while I was away?" Carla asked with a serious tone. She had hope that it would be good news considering everyone was in good spirits.

"Nothing really. You missed the festival Carla. There were rides and delicious food you would have liked it," Wendy said with a big smile.

"Yes the festival was enjoyable," Erza said as she took a bite of her cheesecake.

"May I ask where Lucy is?" Carla asked the group and they went silent at her words. Happy had landed when she asked about Lucy and he sat beside Natsu.

"Aye Natsu! Where is Looshi?" Happy asked producing a fish out of thin air and munching on it.

Carla looked at their blank stares and clung to the hope that Lucy had slept in today, but as the silence continued her hope slowly faded away replaced by nothing but dread and despair. Carla looked at each of Lucy's teammates. All of them supported blank looks as they racked their brains to try and figure out who Carla was talking about. Happy also seemed to begin to be affected by the silence as he slowly put the fish away and looked up at Natsu with big innocent eyes.

"Who's Lucy?" Gray finally asked breaking the silence that had begun to way down on all of them.

"Who's Lucy!" Happy and Carla demanded at the same time disbelief ringing in their tone.

"Yea who are you guys talking about?" Natsu asked as he looked confusingly down at Happy who only returned his gaze with watery eyes. Carla could feel the rage, the confusion, and the impending sadness begin to swirl inside her. What had happened while she had been away? It was Happy who broke the silence this time.

"Natsu! Lucy is our weirdo partner. She's your best friend other than me," Happy said sitting and staring at Natsu with wide eyes.

"Partner? Best Friend? But Happy you're my only partner," Natsu said looking down at the blue exceed with a wide grin, which only made Happy look down at his fish and push it aside as he began to shake with rage and sadness.

"Have any of you seen a mage with blonde hair and brown eyes?" Carla snapped seeing as they were getting nowhere with the questions they were asking at the moment.

"Actually yea," Gray said leaning back in his chair and brushing a hand through his dark locks.

"Oh yea I talked to her," Natsu said his smile faltering ever so slightly.

"She was just standing at the guild doors like a weirdo. I asked her what she was doing here since she obviously wasn't from the guild since I hadn't seen her before. She said she was just passing through. She said she came when the guild was partying and she left just as everyone was waking up. She seemed nice…. Maybe she'll come back…." Natsu said trailing off, as he got lost in a memory. His eyes drawing together in confusion as he remembered his interaction with the blonde.

He couldn't explain it but he wanted to get to know the weird blonde that left the guild. He had thought of her a lot recently and he didn't understand why. He didn't even know the weirdo and yet he couldn't get her out of his mind. She had looked sad and Natsu had gotten lost in her deep chocolate brown eyes. He had thought when he first set eyes on her sad eyes that he wanted to see her smile. He had gotten one but it was brief and fleeting before her sad eyes returned again. He was also still confused at the actions of his hand. He had reached out to her for some unknown reason, his body betraying him. It confused Natsu the more he thought about it. Pushing the thoughts of the beautiful brown eyes aside he looked up to see Happy staring at his fish and Carla coming over to pat his shoulder. Why was Happy so upset? Was this Lucy important to the exceeds? His teammates all had looks of confusion that matched his own. Gray quirked a brow at Natsu and Natsu sent him a fiery glare. Was he looking for a fight? His thoughts slowly drifting away from the blonde that tended to plague his mind.

As Natsu leapt over the table and began to fight with Gray, Carla walked over to the silently crying Happy and put a tender paw on his shoulder. He looked up at her with teary eyes. She felt the same sorrow he did. She had to figure out why none of them remembered their beloved Celestial Mage, but she didn't know where to start.

"How could they not remember?" Happy demanded in a tense voice, that was very unlike happy's usually cherry voice.

"Why do you want to find this Lucy?" Wendy asked bringing the attention back to the conversation that had faded.

"She is a dear friend of ours Wendy. I just wish to know her whereabouts and know that she is safe," Carla answered truthfully looking at the concerned Wendy.

"I am going to get some tea. Happy why don't you join me," Carla said earning a gasp from Wendy. True, she usually never kept company with the tomcat but they needed to discuss what was happening with their guild, and what had happened to Lucy. Happy nodded and they both flew over to Mirajane.

"Hi Carla, Happy. How was your trip?" Mira greeted them while making Carla's usual tea.

"It was a long trip, but a nice one," Carla answered trying to keep her voice even as she took a seat at the end of the bar away from the others. Happy plopped down beside her with a sad expression.

"Thank you Mirajane," Carla said as she accepted her tea. She noticed the fleeting glance Mira sent Happy but she assumed his glum expression was because Carla had rejected him again. Smile returning Mira left them to chat.

"Carla why don't they remember Lucy?" he asked looking up at her with hopeful eyes.

"I have bad news tom cat. I talked to Lucy before we left. I had had a vision. It was cloaked in darkness and pain, with only the briefest glimmer of hope. It was Lucy's future. I had told her about this and she informed me that she was to encounter the man the day after we left. She was determined and ready to face him. I had great confidence in her that she would protect the one's she loves and succeed in defeating him. She promised me before we left that she would protect the guild at all costs," Carla said in a sad tone as she sat across from the tomcat who was taking her words in silence.

"And I think whatever has happened to this guild was her keeping her promise. Something must have happened. They are all unharmed but their memories of Lucy are gone," Carla said staring down at her tea with sad eyes.

"We need to find her," Happy stated as he whipped the tears away from his face.

"I agree, but first we need to find out if anyone remembers Lucy. Or if we can find any clue to her whereabouts," she said finishing the last sip of her tea.

Happy nodded in agreement as the sadness left his eyes and was replaced with determination to find his beloved nakama. They took off in different directions asking the members of the guild if they knew a certain blonde Celestial Mage. They moved from person to person only earning confused looks and more questions than answers. After they had asked almost every member of the guild they finally met back at the counter to discuss their findings. Carla called over Lily and filled him in on the current situation concerning the blonde mage.

"Did you find anything?" Carla asked Happy.

"No. Nobody remembers Lucy. It's like she was never here," he said rubbing his eyes.

"I have something that may interest you," Lily said as he took a bite of his kiwi. Carla raised an eyebrow at him prompting him to continue.

"Levy," he said nodding towards the Script Mage. "She hasn't even looked at the other books around her for three days. Gajeel told me she keeps re-reading a story in her possession. She seems attached to it and he told me it's by a girl named Lucy," Lily said crossing his arms with a frown.

"So she seems attached to it but can't remember why?" Carla inquired only becoming more confused at her own statement. They fell into a deafening silence as they all pondered the situation they had found themselves in.

"The memories of her have left but the connection still remains," a graceful voice said behind them.

The exceeds all turned to find a young girl with long wavy blonde hair that reached her ankles with little white wings decorating her hair standing behind them. Her frilly pink-layered robe fell almost childlike around her small figure. Blue diamond patterns and a little red bow decorated her pink dress giving it a tender look. Her dark green eyes bore into the three exceeds with compassion and sadness. Carla was the first to recognize the figure in front of them. Her eyes grew wide and she gaped at the creator of Fairy Tail.

"First Master, Mavis Vermillion?" Carla questioned standing up.

"Yes that is me. We should talk somewhere where we will not draw attention," she said with a soft smile turning and waltzing towards the front doors. The exceeds shared curious and shocked expressions before they stood and followed the First Master out of the guild. Only a few glances were spared their way as they ventured out of the guild doors. However none stopped and questioned them. The exceeds followed Mavis out of the guild and into the forest. Carla watched as the first master moved between the trees with almost an eerie grace.

"Before you ask. Yes I am a spirit and only people baring the fairy tail guild mark can see me," Mavis said turning her head so she could smile at the three exceeds that flew behind her in stunned silence.

"I think here will do fine," Mavis said as she sat down in the grass and began to play with the green blades. The exceeds sat in front of their first master with weary looks and concerned gazes.

"Now let's begin," she said with such enthusiasm as she leant forward to look at the three cats. Their only reply was to stare in silence with mouths slightly agape. Mavis's smile faltered at their stunned faces and Carla was the first to recover.

"I'm sorry Master Mavis, it is just hard to accept that you are actually with us," Carla said with as much grace as she could muster. Mavis only giggled and plucked another blade of grass from the ground beside her.

"What did you mean earlier, _The memories of her have left but the connection still remains_," Lily questioned as he crossed his arms over his tiny body.

"Exactly what I said. It seems that our guild mates have forgotten someone dear to them but they are acting differently than they usually would suggesting that the connection still exists only without the memory of that connection," Mavis said with a happy smile.

"Can you help us?" Happy asked his eyes still downcast in a sad demeanour.

"Maybe… Tell me what you all know," Mavis asked and leaned forward to listen intently to what the exceeds had to say.

"We all knew that a shadow of a man had been tormenting Lucy. He broke into her apartment leaving a mysterious note. Then he put Lucy into a magically induced sleep making her live through her worst nightmares. Lucy informed me a little of her situation. She told me that he was only interested in her. She also mentioned that the magic he wielded was too dangerous to let her family near him. She was afraid that he would use them against her or harm them. I don't know what happened but I don't think it turned out good for Lucy," Carla informed the young master in front of her who only nodded in agreement.

"Yes I was here when it happened. It was a tragically sad event. It was her sacrifice in order to protect the guild from further harm... However I'm pretty sure I recognized the magic the man used. If I remember correctly in my time we arrested the last man to use that forbidden magic. It was called Memory access and caused a lot of trouble for myself and my guild," Mavis said as her eyes became unfocused as she returned to a distant and painful memory.

"Anyways we should recruit Levy and Master. We will need their help in order to break the seal on their memories. We will need their help if we want to save Lucy and stop the oncoming darkness," Mavis said as she stood suddenly with a determined gleam in her eyes.

"You know how to save Lucy?" Happy cheered with hopeful eyes.

"What do you mean seal?" Lily questioned as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Oncoming darkness?" Carla asked with worry in her voice as images of her vision flashed through her mind.

"Yes to all, but we must act quickly. Time is against us," Mavis said as she glided out of the forest with a spring in her step.

The exceeds followed in silence. All of them deep in there own thoughts. Hope had sprung in all of their hearts at the beautiful news the first master had provided them with. They had answers and a means to help their nakama. They had a lot to get done and a friend to save. As the group of them moved towards the guild they put aside their sadness and put on determined faces. They would do whatever it took to help their family and save the one they lost.

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**How can Master Mavis help? What is this seal? How can they save Lucy? Find out next... **


End file.
